


Sugar O'er The Devil Himself

by Hermaline75



Category: Thor (All Media Types) - Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Anal Sex, Angst, Coming Untouched, Daddy Kink, Distressing themes, Evil Cliffhangers, Fluff, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort, I was asked to add that last one, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phone Sex, Prostitution, Sibling Rivalry, Smut, Sugar Daddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:23:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 48,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2744231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The follow-up to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/2531729">Sugar</a> </p><p>Thor works rather unhappily in the family real estate business and is excited to be embarking on an arrangement with his new sugar baby, Loki, which he trusts to bring him comfort and satisfaction and maybe a little more.</p><p>But as his life starts to spiral into unexpected places, secrets and crimes long buried have consequences for them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Hermaline," they said. "We loved your carefree sugar daddy fic. Will you write a sequel?"
> 
> And I said, "But of course! A sequel with a bucketload of angst..."
> 
> This fic will be covering a lot of themes that I find difficult to deal with, including sexual abuse, drugs, violence etc. None of it is dwelt on or graphically depicted or part of the main pairing (which for the most part is disgustingly fluffy), but it's there and it's potentially upsetting. So if that's not for you, that's perfectly fine. I'm not here to cause anyone undue distress.
> 
> Also there will be smut and additional kinks and all the rest, but if you were hoping for exclusively fun sexy times then I am truly sorry.
> 
> Short chapters = fast updates. Daily updates, assuming no issues.
> 
> And I think that's all I need to cover right now. As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.

Loki was in Thor's shower. No one ever used his shower except him. Which was a shame because it was a really nice shower.

Thor didn't know what to do.

Should he make coffee? Was that it? Should he quietly leave money on the pillow to make this as un-awkward as possible? How much? What was the deal here?

He made coffee, jumping when he heard the water shut off. He was barely breathing when the bedroom door opened and Loki emerged, hair combed back from his face and wearing his shirt and trousers from the previous night.

"I wasn't sure how you...coffee."

Loki smiled. "Well, I certainly do coffee. Thank you."

Thor was nervous again. Despite their evening together, he was looking at a stranger scooping sugar into one of his mugs.

"How much do I owe you?" he asked, wincing at how blunt that sounded.

Raised eyebrows. "Well, that depends. Do you want to see me again? How often? Would you like a regular date night or a flexible approach? Exactly what do you want from this relationship? I have a variety of rates."

Thor floundered. He wanted everything.

"I would...really like to see you again. Can I have a mixture of dates, like some fixed and some not?"

"You can. Obviously, sometimes I will be unavailable," he said, sitting on one of Thor's kitchen chairs. "Now, we should talk limits."

"Limits?"

"I have rules with all my clients and especially regular ones. They're mainly for my safety. You can call me whatever you want, but the only name you'll get is Loki. I have a work phone number which you already have. If necessary, I will not hesitate to change it without warning. Do not try to follow me home or send anyone to find me or I'll sue you for everything you've got and you really don't want that scandal. I cannot go as your date to social events, but dinner for two is fine. In the bedroom, do not leave marks on my skin. Stop means stop and no means no unless we negotiate other safewords. I am happy to be penetrated - you know that - and to penetrate, oral is fine too, but I insist on condoms. I prefer not to be urinated on and any other body things are right off the menu. Other kinks can be discussed. Is all of that clear?"

Thor stared at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that's all fine."

"I'm sorry that it's so intense, but I have to be careful. I've never had any trouble, but there was this one girl who ended an arrangement and the guy stalked her and it was really awful, so I like to be up front. Not that I think you're like that, but... Well, you never know. Sorry."

"No, don't be. I'd rather you're comfortable before...anything else."

They agreed that Loki would come and visit him on Thursdays and on one other night per week on a flexible basis. The monetary exchange was still intensely awkward, even when Loki made it as pain-free as possible by giving him all the necessary details to set up a direct debit. Once a month, he'd pay, without ever having to talk about it again.

"Alright, that's that," Loki said, standing up. "It's Saturday now. Do you want me to come back before Thursday?"

He wanted Loki not to leave. But that seemed clingy so he asked to meet again on Tuesday instead.

"I look forward to it."

They kissed at the door. Thor couldn't shake the feeling that this had all been some kind of dream.

He spent the rest of the weekend in something of a daze. He cancelled his account with Decadence. He could always re-join if this didn't work out. But he hoped it would. He really hoped it would.

By the time Monday rolled around, Thor was still riding the wave of having something new in his life. It was rare for him. The change would be good for him, probably.

Sif even commented on how well he looked. And she'd worked for him for nearly ten years so she would know.

"Well, let's just say you can stop sending me links to shady websites."

"Thank God," she said. "I was waiting for IT to come and question me about it. But you found someone? What's she like? Can I meet her?"

" _He_ is pretty great so far. But no, sorry, you can't. And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone. Just...you know, it's a private thing."

"Not a problem. Confidentiality is my middle name. Well, actually it's Annifrid, but it might as well be. You're remembering that you have a meeting today at 12 with a representative of the wetland association, right?"

He definitely wasn't remembering. "Why?"

"Because when we absorbed that little property development concern, Svart, they were right in the middle of a deal to sell some privately-owned wetlands upstate. Your dad wants you to handle it."

Oh, great. Sounded thoroughly riveting.

The representative was very earnest, a small, stocky woman with a mass of tightly curled hair and a wide smile. She told him all about how very important the wetlands were environmentally and how building on them would be catastrophic.

"So you want us not to sell the land?" Thor tried to confirm.

"Oh, no, we want you to sell it, but not to anyone who will develop it. We'd very much like Asgard Developments to purchase it themselves and donate it to the association so we can prevent it being sold off for building at a later date."

He blinked at her. "You want us to give you real estate? For no money?"

She smiled. "Naturally, we would set up a repayment scheme. But we are a small charity, so it would take us some time. But the positive publicity for you would be immense."

Yeah, and it would probably mean an influx of similar organisations seeking similar deals. And much as he would like to help, that simply wasn't what they did.

"I will look into this and who was interested before we bought Svart and what their plans for the land are," he told her, trying to sound more sincere than he was. "And I will be in touch."

She thanked him profusely and he felt vaguely guilty. He really ought to look into this properly. But he didn't see why this had been passed to him of all people. Balder was the obvious choice. He loved birds, he'd find some reason that the land couldn't be developed. Some endangered species that needed to be saved.

He could talk to him later.

As it was, he had a whole week of manager reviews to read over. So-and-so is a valuable member of the team, so-and-so is a vital part of the data entry group, good, wonderful, keep up the good work, signed Thor Odinson, heir-presumptive of Asgard Developments.

To be frank, his father should have retired years ago. To be frank, he only stuck around because Thor wasn't ready to run the company yet. And Thor wasn't ready because he spent his days being the motivating one, sending out emails, writing occasional press releases and generally being the face of a bright future that didn't seem to ever be coming.

Balder could probably run the place much better. He got sent out on surveys and everything. And Thor wanted to, would be glad to, but no, his place was in the office.

He couldn't help but feel like he was expected to run something he knew nothing about. He'd become one of those awful bosses who knew nothing about the daily struggles of his employees and couldn't make decisions with any kind of basis.

At least Balder might have a clue. Maybe they could split the duties of a CEO. Split the salary too. He wouldn't be surprised if the majority wanted Thor to step down and let Balder have it all, but no, he was older, he had to, at least on paper.

That was just how it was done. His father inherited from his father who started the business way-back-when and that was it. Personal aptitude didn't seem to come into it.

He sighed heavily at his desk and set about signing a series of important letters to other firms. The ones who cared if something wasn't hand signed. HELA, Norn Ltd, bloody Jotunheim...

It was such corporate bullshit, but it was his job. Sit down, look smart and sign things. Don't worry, someone else will deal with the complex stuff. You just smile for the camera. 

He had difficulty shaking the feeling that he was surplus to requirements a lot of the time.

No one would notice if he replaced himself with a picture and a stamp of his signature. Sif could easily keep up that facade for years.

But it was all he really had in his life.

And so he had to do it as best he could.


	2. Chapter 2

"What kind of wetlands is it?"

Thor sighed into his phone. "I don't know. Wetlands. Any ideas?"

"Well, you want to look into curlews for a start..."

"No, Balds, I meant any ideas why Dad has dropped this on me?"

He almost heard the shrug. "Well, you're always saying that you want to be more involved. Maybe this is him trying to let you make a decision."

"You mean it's a test."

"Everything is a test with Dad. How long do you have before you have to decide what to do?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to seriously look into this, find out why exactly someone wants to build on wetlands anyway. Wouldn't you have terrible rising damp issues?"

"It depends. If you drain it right, you'll be fine. But that is a lot of effort to go to. It's more likely that someone wants it for recreation. Sailing or something."

"See, this is why you should be in charge. You actually know what you're talking about."

Balder laughed. "Are you busy tonight? Want to have dinner?"

No. It was Tuesday. Loki was coming round tonight.

"No, I'm hitting the gym tonight and then I'll just crash," he lied. "But I'm good with tomorrow?"

Yeah, Balder was too. Family dinner wasn't too bad when it was just the pair of them. Balder was basically the only steady friend he had. Except Sif. And he rarely saw her outside office hours.

So it was strange to be clearing his coffee table in preparation for someone coming round. A friend. A more-than friend. That he was paying to be more than a friend, but still. He'd take what he could get.

He jumped when the door chime rang. Did he look alright? Was a tshirt a suitable thing to be wearing? Had he misjudged these jeans?

Loki was dressed much the same as he was, though perhaps with a little more colour.

He didn't know whether to go for the kiss or not, settling for a firm press of lips with no tongue. Simple. Fine.

But Loki was skipping awkward second date actions and moving straight to familiarity.

"How was the start of your week?" he asked, hanging up his coat and trademark scarf.

"Oh. Uh. Fine, you know."

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

He bypassed Thor and settled on the couch.

"Come here and tell me all your troubles."

Thor sat awkwardly on the other end of the couch, too stiff, too formal. Loki gripped his shoulder and pulled him closer, encouraging him to lie his head in his lap. Had he mentioned at their last meeting how much he wanted this kind of simple affection? Maybe. Maybe it was just obvious.

It spilled out of him without him really noticing. How he felt superfluous and that his father didn't trust him. How he wished Balder was in his place even as he feared that one day he would be deposed by his little brother. How he felt inadequate and alone...

He realised he'd been talking for nearly twenty minutes with Loki running soft fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not usually this moody, it's just there's this thing with wetlands up north and... I know I should be glad to have actual work to do but I just wish it wasn't...that. But I should have asked how you are, how you've been..."

"I've been fine."

Was that it? Nothing else? He squirmed around until he was able to look up at him questioningly.

"Thor, I'm here to look after you. Don't worry about me."

"But I should, and I want to know. I want to know things about you."

Loki sighed, running a hand up his chest. "Alright, well, after my night with you, I did some laundry, went to my day job yesterday and today and now I'm back."

Was that true? It seemed plausible. But it was generic enough to give nothing away. And even though he'd agreed to the relative anonymity of the arrangement, he wanted to know Loki a little more.

"What's your day job?"

"Oh, it's terribly dull. I type things. They give me things to type and I type them. I don't fully understand it. I just type the things."

That could be so many jobs. But he shouldn't press it. It was none of his business.

Thor frowned and sat up.

"I was going to cook, but I didn't know if you had any dietary needs so... So pizza?"

Loki leant over to kiss him fully. At least that felt real.

They ate tangled together on the couch watching some low budget comedy on TV. Thor was more distracted by the way Loki sucked leftover grease from his fingers.

And it was just nice to have a warm body resting against his. It was nice just to be in a room with someone, sharing space with another person with no pressures or deadlines.

He could happily have fallen asleep there. His eyes were drooping when Loki turned to face him during the end credits.

"Are you sleepy? Want to go to bed?"

Thor nodded through a yawn. And even though he'd been looking forward to sleeping with Loki again, maybe it would be better if they could actually just sleep.

Loki shrugged when he mentioned it.

"Whatever you want."

Thor didn't want to hope, but he thought Loki looked a little disappointed. 

He folded into Thor's arms happily enough though, leaning back into the embrace. He smelled faintly of something Thor didn't recognise but that he liked very much.

"Loki?" he whispered after a few moments.

"Changed your mind?"

"No, it's just... Will you tell me something real? Nothing big, just something I can know about you? I want to know something that no one else knows about you. I realise how stupid that sounds but I want to have something. Anything. From your childhood maybe."

Loki stiffened against him for a moment before rolling over.

"I sometimes don't sleep well," he said, looking into Thor's face. "And sometimes, when I can't sleep, I pretend that I'm a squirrel."

Well, that hadn't been what he'd expected.

"A squirrel?"

"Yeah. I've done it since I was a kid. I listen to the wind or the traffic and I wrap the blankets around myself and I pretend that I'm a little squirrel in a hole in a tree, hiding from the elements and warm and safe and no worries. It just helps me relax. Helps me drift off."

Thor could just about make out his face in the darkness, all wide eyes and parted lips. He pulled him closer to carefully kiss his forehead.

"I'd like to be a squirrel with you."

And that was probably the dumbest thing he'd ever said, but Loki was kissing him back before resting against his chest.

"Let's hide together."


	3. Chapter 3

Loki was in his bed.

Thor hadn't been able to watch him sleep before. No, not _watch_ , that sounded creepy. See him sleeping. His hair all tousled from the night, lashes fanned against his cheeks, chest steadily rising and falling.

He checked his phone. He was awake early. Hours early. So he didn't have to get up just yet, he could lie here for a while and just enjoy this.

Trying to move subtly turned put not to be his strong suit. Loki stirred as he settled in next to him, thinking to just hold him close and go back to sleep.

His eyes fluttered open, saw Thor, and fell shut again as he rolled over.

"You should have said that you were a somnophile," he murmured, shuffling back into the embrace.

Thor tried to think through the haze of early-morning to figure that one out.

"A sleep lover?"

"S'when you like to have sex with sleeping people. Just warn me in advance next time and I'll lie still."

Thor jerked in surprise.

"No, I didn't... I wasn't... I just wanted to hold you."

Loki chuckled sleepily and ground back against him. And fair enough, he was hard, but that was just because it was the morning and not because he'd had any ulterior motives.

"I'm serious," he said, firmly awake now. "I wouldn't do anything like that. Not without asking. And I don't think... I don't think I'd like it."

"Aren't I pretty when I sleep?"

"You're beautiful when you sleep. But you're more beautiful when you're awake and I can see you."

"What time is it? When do you have work?"

"Not for ages. It's barely six. Go back to sleep, there's time."

"If there's time, isn't there something else you'd rather do?"

Thor pulled him closer out of instinct, but made no attempt at going further.

"We don't have to do that," he said. "We can just be here."

"But would you like to?"

Yes, of course he would like to, he would love to, but he wasn't...he wasn't sure still about how he felt about this.

"I think that silence tells me all I need to know, Thor."

"But...do you want to?"

Loki rolled over and looked at him critically.

"I'm asking for it, aren't I? If I didn't want to, and you didn't ask me to, why would I then bring it up? I'd just stay quiet."

"Well, because...you know that I do want to and so you might think that you have to because I'm... I'm..."

"Paying me. It's alright, you can say it. I know I'm a whore. It won't shock me."

Thor winced. "Please don't call yourself that."

"I let people have sex with me for money. A lot of money, more than I'm worth frankly, but still. When it comes down to it, I'm a practitioner of the oldest profession. I'm a prositute. A rent boy. A hooker. I am a whore."

No, he didn't like thinking in those terms, he didn't like that word. For a start, that meant Loki didn't like him, didn't want him, that all of this was just a transaction. And it was, of course it was, this wasn't a fairy tale. But he wanted... He wanted something a little more concrete.

"Do you like me?" he blurted. "Do you like being near me?"

Loki stared at him.

"I don't want you thinking this is more than it is," he said warily. "It doesn't matter if I like you. You have to understand that."

"No, I do. I do, I just... I want you to. I hope that you do. I hope that I'm one of the...better ones. Not that I hope the others are mean, I just mean that... I hope this is...nice for you."

Loki leant forward to kiss him softly.

"I'm in a comfortable bed, in a beautiful house. I am warm and fed and relaxed and I have a very handsome man lying next to me. Yes. This is very nice for me. And it could be even better, for both of us, if you would stop thinking of yourself as the white knight. I don't need to be rescued."

He'd moved to straddle Thor as he spoke, sheets falling from his shoulders and revealing the plains of his torso.

"I like you, Thor. So far, I like you very much. But I'm also a whore. Your whore for the moment. So let me do my job."

Thor was almost annoyed that his body reacted so favourably. It was hard to concentrate, his hands automatically moving to Loki's waist as he leant forward, dark hair cascading around them.

"Play with me, Daddy."

God, that word... He had never wanted, never even considered, but it echoed around his head, filling his mind as he pulled Loki down to kiss him properly, licking into his mouth and getting a pleased moan in response.

One of his hands quested lower, fingertips skimming over Loki's entrance, the tight whorl of muscle twitching.

"I bought... I bought my own supply," he said when Loki made to move away.

And yes, he had. He'd bought a pump bottle of waterbased lube which promised enhanced sensations and closeness. Because he wanted to be close, he wanted it to be good for both of them.

"Do you want to do the honours, or would you like a show?"

Thor considered the show for a moment, how Loki would talk to him during it as his flesh yielded to his own fingers. And then he remembered how eagerly Loki had reacted to the feel of Thor preparing him and knew that he wanted that again.

By the time Loki was writhing and keening against his hand and dragging Thor into heated kisses, he thought he might burst. He was trying to undo the foil condom wrapper one handed and failing miserably when Loki suddenly squirmed away from him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you? Too fast?"

"No, I just... Lie down, I want to ride you, now. I need it."

Well, OK. Thor found himself flat on his back again, cock jutting upwards as Loki rolled the condom on and sank down upon it, drawing moans from them both.

"Fuck, I've been waiting for this," Loki gasped.

"Me too."

"Yeah? Did you dream about it? Did you touch yourself thinking about me and how good it feels being inside me?"

Thor said nothing and Loki laughed, his hips rocking back and forth.

"I dreamt about you," he said, voice dropping low. "Dreamt about your cock. I wanted it last night. Want it all the time, Daddy."

He was going to be trained into loving that word. He was going to end up with a Pavlovian response to it. And damn him, he didn't care.

"Tell me what you want, baby," he said, trying to thrust upwards in matching time to Loki's motions.

Loki seemed to consider for a moment, leaning forward slightly to brace his arms against Thor's shoulders, increasing his range of movement and making Thor moan even louder.

"Just fuck me. That's all I need. Just want it harder."

He didn't have a lot of leverage but Thor managed to increase the power of his hips, the action jolting through Loki and gaining pleased cries in return.

"Tell me I'm good. Tell me."

Thor struggled to speak, now trying to move Loki by the hips to control the pace.

"You're good, you're so good. You feel amazing. God, you're so hot."

Loki smiled wickedly at him, leaning forward to speak into his ear, breath tingling against his skin.

"Tell me that I'm a good whore. Tell me I'm Daddy's good little slut."

No, he couldn't, he couldn't do that.

Loki stopped moving, and Thor whined in frustration.

"Please," he begged. "Loki, please."

And he wouldn't move, he refused to even roll his hips, even as his cock twitched against Thor's stomach.

Thor groaned and flopped his head against the pillow, eyes shut.

"You're a good whore," he said quietly.

And, oh, Loki moved a little. He was so close that this was unbearable torture.

"I didn't hear you."

"You're a good whore."

Loki started to bounce, his breath harsh and shallow. Thor was reduced to crying out and writhing beneath him, Loki's hand furiously working his own cock against Thor's skin.

"Once more, just one more time, Daddy. Make me believe it and I'll make you come."

Thor sat up without warning, unable to take it any longer, arms wrapping round Loki and trapping his hand between them.

He spoke against Loki's hair, nuzzling at the scent there.

"You're a good fucking whore."

Loki moaned and bucked frantically against him, inner muscles clamping down and all Thor could do was groan out his pleasure as he came.

He tipped Loki backwards and replaced his cock with his fingers, wringing a harsh orgasm out of him with unrelenting attention to his prostate until he was screaming and jerking his way through the aftershocks.

And abruptly, Thor felt awful.

He wrapped Loki tightly in his arms, hiding against his chest.

"Hey," Loki said gently. "Hey, it's OK. I've got you."

Thor shook his head no. It wasn't OK, he didn't want to be that person.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I said those things."

"I asked you to. I wanted you to. I thought with a little nudge you might like it. I'm sorry. You don't want to think of me in that way, and that's OK. When we're together we can pretend I'm not if you'll be more comfortable."

Yes, he would rather that, but he didn't want everything to be false he wanted...

Loki looked a little scared when Thor sat up suddenly and seized both his hands.

"Tell me something real," he said. "Please, tell me something real."

Loki stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"When I was a kid I always wanted a puppy, but I got bitten by a dog when I was about 11 and I went off them."

Thor released his grip, sitting back to give him some space. Loki sat up, hugging his knees.

"Why are you so obsessed with truth and lies, Thor?"

He hesitated. He knew exactly why. But he wasn't ready to talk about it with Loki or with anyone really.

"I just know what damage lies do to people. Even when they're kept for a good reason."

Loki looked at him warily, but didn't push. He said something vague about needing to leave if he was going to be at work on time and headed for the shower.

Thor let him leave without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

He knew something was wrong the moment Balder opened the door.

"Dad's here," he said apologetically.

"What, why?"

Balder shrugged. "He wants to talk to you. Apparently you weren't picking up your phone this morning."

Well, no. He'd been trying to get a hold of himself and didn't want to talk to anyone. Sif had handled everything on his office line.

Thor took a deep breath and walked into Balder's sitting room.

Any chair their father took became a throne. Even on one of the plush leather armchairs that seemed ready to eat unwary users alive, he looked regal, staring at Thor with his good eye. His glass one remained cold and emotionless as always. He'd lost it in an accident when Thor was in his late teens. Years later it still unnerved him.

"Sif told me you were unavailable to speak this morning," he said. "I was very disappointed."

It almost certainly hadn't been Odin calling in person. But still, he was saying it like it was Sif's _fault_ and that...

"I'm sorry," Thor said. "I asked her not to disturb me for any reason. Next time I'll be sure to specify that you are, of course, an exception."

Odin nodded slowly.

"I assume you're looking into the case I assigned you."

"The wetlands? Yeah, I'm on it. I don't know what the big deal is though. It's small, difficult, far away from any cities. It can't possibly be worth anything."

"There's something about it, Thor. Something not right, something someone wants to hide. Which is why I want you to work on this, discreetly. I don't want them to know we're coming until they realise we're ten steps ahead."

"You've given it to me because everyone knows I don't get the serious jobs and so they'll not see me as a potential threat."

Odin stared at him, shocked.

"No," he said after a while. "I've given it to you because I trust your judgement. I know we haven't always understood one another, but I trust you. And you're my son. I know that I can rely on you."

Thor stared at the floor. Alright, maybe he was overthinking things of late.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I promise, I'll find out what's going on. And I am grateful for the opportunity."

His father stood up, looking as customarily unflustered as ever.

"I'll send the paperwork in the morning for you to get started properly, now that you understand the gravity there. Enjoy your evening."

Thor flopped face first onto Balder's couch as soon as he heard the door close, groaning into the cushion.

Balder patted him vaguely on the head.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad. And the spaghetti will disintegrate if you mope too long."

"Why don't I think before I talk? Why do I always say the worst things?"

"You don't," Balder said, dragging him off the couch. "This is out of the blue, how were you meant to know that he wants you to handle some untapped oil field or whatever?"

The spaghetti was delicious. Balder's cooking always was. And Thor wished he could appreciate it more.

"Are you OK?" his brother suddenly asked.

"Hmm... Yeah, just... Just this whole thing is bugging me."

"Yeah, I don't know. I feel like you've been a little off recently."

_Oh, drop it, please, he didn't want to talk about it..._

"Is it because your birthday's coming up?"

"Probably. I'm getting old. Older. And I just feel like...another year's gone by and I have nothing to show for it."

"That's not true. In that time you oversaw the purchase of an entire small business. You did that, start to finish."

Thor shrugged non-committally. It hadn't exactly been difficult. Like everything else he did, it was just a case of signing on the right dotted line. He hadn't brokered any deals. He'd just done as he was told.

"Are you sure it's just fear of aging and not...the other thing?"

His hands bunched into fists by his sides, eyes riveted to his fork, the little glint where it reflected the light.

"Have you thought about talking to someone about it?" Balder was continuing. "Like... A counsellor or someone?"

"I don't need... It's not like I need help, I just need to get over myself, that's all. And I am, it's just this time of year, you know? I start overthinking. I'll be fine. It's nothing."

He smiled in what he hoped was a suitably convincing way.

"Anyway, how's Karnilla?"

Because if there was one way to distract Balder, it was to bring up his lady love. Thor only half-listened. He was several hundred miles away.

Maybe Balder was right. Maybe having another crack at therapy would be good for him. Maybe he just hadn't found the right doctor yet. Maybe they'd figure out some way to... Maybe not fix things, but make them better. Maybe not a doctor, maybe nothing so formal. Maybe he just needed to talk to someone, air his brain out...

"So what do you think I should do?" Balder asked.

Thor blinked back to reality.

"What is your heart telling you?" he asked, setting off another little monologue.

And Loki was coming back tomorrow. Assuming he hadn't decided it wasn't worth the trouble. And Thor wasn't sure how he felt about that. He liked being around Loki, but he'd made such a fool of himself that morning. Maybe he wasn't cut out for being a sugar daddy, maybe he was too emotional for it.

But then he'd go back to having no one in his life but family and Sif and dozens of faceless employee names.

It hadn't even been a week, and already the very idea of ending their arrangement made him scared. But he had to do something.

Had to figure out exactly what he wanted. And let Loki know. After all, that was only fair.

And they could start over.

"Relationships are hard, man," Balder's voice re-entered his mind.

He nodded in sympathy.


	5. Chapter 5

There was nothing in the paperwork to suggest the land had any value at all. It was just a swamp. Just the opening to an estuary, heading out to sea. Maybe you could do some kind of boating on it, but...

"I don't get it, Sif," he said as she headed for lunch. "There's nothing there. It's just land that belonged to some estate that's being sold off by one of the northern families. Very little potential. The only reason you'd have to develop it is some kind of burning hatred of the environment. It's so pointless. But apparently someone is looking at it like it's the most desirable field in the world."

"Well," she said from the doorway. "Have you been to see it? Maybe there's more to it than you can see on the plan."

That was a fair point. He wasn't doing anything this weekend. He could contact the executor, arrange to meet up there and he could try to see what was so special.

He thanked Sif and let her head off as he searched through the documents, looking for a number or an email address, some way to contact them. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Loki.

Thor flopped for just a moment. He had so much he wanted to say, and so many ways to mess up saying it. 

It was just confirming that they were still on for that night. Thor sighed with relief and replied that yes, he was expecting him.

He could worry about Loki when the time came.

Eventually he managed to dig up a number for someone called Lorelei. No surname.

The phone rang for ages before someone picked up.

"Hello, Lorelei? This is Thor Odinson, from Asgard Developments. I have some questions about the..."

"Hang on, I'll get her."

Thor blinked and held the line until another voice spoke to him and he could repeat his introduction.

"Are you the agent handling the sale for the family?" he asked.

She laughed. "Oh, God, no. I'm the one lumped with it."

"I see. Well, our company recently bought out the firm that were the previous brokers, and I was wondering if I could come up and have a look in person, maybe ask you some questions?"

"Sure. When?"

They settled on the Sunday. Thor couldn't shake the feeling that Lorelei wasn't taking him seriously.

But maybe he'd see what all the fuss was about.

Loki arrived right on time just after dinner and seemed faintly concerned by the way Thor moved back without kissing him.

"I have some things I want to lay out early," Thor said. "You laid out your rules straightaway and I think we can avoid any more...misunderstandings if I explain a couple of things."

Loki nodded, his face perfectly inscrutable, waiting.

Thor sighed. "For...personal reasons, I find terms like the ones we used last time quite upsetting. I would rather not use them. I don't want to act like I'm unaware of what you do, but I... I'm not comfortable..."

"Saying it?" Loki tried.

"I suppose, yes. I understand that a lot of people can use those words sexually in the right situation and that's fine and more power to them, but they're not for me. So I hope we can move on from that and... It's genuinely nothing to do with you or your lifestyle, it's something I personally don't like."

Loki smiled wryly. "You're the opposite of the majority. Most freak about the whole 'daddy' thing a lot more."

"But that's...you explained about that and why you like it, and I think I'll come to like it too, but the...other stuff, I just don't like."

He was looking away when Loki took his hand.

"It's fine. I promise, I won't do that again. And you can talk about - or not talk about - whatever you want with me. It's OK. And maybe we should talk about what you would like, and not what you wouldn't. What you want."

What he wanted. What did he want? Basically just someone to be close to.

"I feel like a lot of your clients use you to satisfy their fantasies," he said, carefully.

"That's a fair assessment. So what are yours?"

Thor shrugged, pulling his hand away automatically. "I don't know."

"Oh, come on. There must be something you want. What's your type? I've just been enthusiastic so far, but do you like submission or dominating or sweet or fighting or...?"

"No, I... I like enthusiastic. This is going to sound stupid, but all I want is to believe that you enjoy it. That you have a good time, that it's good for you."

Loki laughed fondly. "OK, I know that my...performance is often a little exaggerated, but I swear to you, I have genuinely enjoyed both our encounters. I hope we have many more. But I need you to be pleased by what we do."

Because I'm the customer, Thor thought bitterly.

"OK," Loki said slowly, watching his face. "How about this time I strip it all back? No show, just what's real. I promise."

It was strange. Loki seemed very vulnerable, hands running up Thor's arms. His kisses were soft and desperate and Thor found every little sound intoxicating.

By the time he was carefully pressing in, their bodies fully aligned, he wanted to weep for how good it felt to be held tight and close, kissing constantly.

Loki didn't speak, just his breathing increasing, the occasional moan escaping his lips. When he started bucking up more forcefully, Thor took the hint to speed up and wrap a hand around his cock.

An almost pained groan later and Loki wrenched his head to the side, panting desperately as Thor worked him through it, following him over the edge moments later. 

He tipped Loki's face back to capture his lips again while they came down, ending up looking into his eyes.

"OK," Loki said eventually, squirming out from beneath Thor and scrubbing his face with his hands. "OK."

"OK?"

He laughed brightly for a second, half a sob.

"Sorry. I just haven't had sex like that in a long time. I'm not used to being quite so...exposed. It was just a bit more intense than I expected, I guess. I've become used to the walls. Not quite ready to tear them down."

Thor pulled him in to envelop him in his arms. He wanted Loki to feel safe. Safe with him. 

"Do you want me to tell you something real?" Loki asked.

"I think you already did."


	6. Chapter 6

The hour's drive up to the wetland site was pretty enough. It was a grey, blustery day but the whole place had a sort of empty, peaceful quality to it, miles away from the city noise.

Lorelei was waiting for him in a huge puffy jacket, skinny jeans and deep green wellingtons, the wind whipping up her masses of red hair.

They shook hands briefly before setting off to stand on the edge of the river and look out over the land.

"So...what's the deal with this?" Thor asked.

He honestly could see nothing of interest other than a log cabin that Lorelei steered him towards hurriedly.

"I think it might be easier to talk in the lodge," she said. "We won't have to shout over the gale."

It was a nice lodge, he had to admit, far more comfortable than he expected it to be from the outside, all soft cushions and drapes and coloured lampshades. It felt nothing like a hunting lodge. It was more like a bar or a lounge. He could imagine some of his parents' friends up here, having cocktails and canopés.

"This was my grandfather's," she said. "And then my dad's. But he doesn't get out so much these days, being dead and all."

It took Thor a moment to process what she'd said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

She shrugged. "So anyway, we figured we'd sell it off. My mother hated him coming up here anyway."

"What did he use it for?"

"All sorts. There's a little bar over there and he used to bring friends here to hang out. Hide from their wives. Drink. Discuss business matters. And you can get all the way to the sea if you take a boat out. He used to bring girls up here too, you know. That's the main reason Mom wants it gone."

Thor spluttered a little. Lorelei unnerved him slightly. He came from old money but there was something about the way she held herself and spoke that said her funds were ancient. The kind of stock that looked down on his family for being nouveau riche and treated the rest of humanity as an annoyance at best and a raw material from which to make profit at worst.

"Why is it so important?" he asked. "I understand you've had interest, I mean. What's so exciting about a bit of...marsh?"

"Well, like I say. The sea. Plenty people want a nice place by the sea."

He frowned slightly. She was making fun of him. Like there was something obvious he was missing.

She sighed. "You're an Odinson, right? So you move in the business circles. You know that all the developers and CEOs round here are our kind of people. Or rather, they're all people like us, all part of the same little club."

Thor wasn't sure how he felt about being put in that particular pigeonhole but opted to remain silent and keep his face neutral.

"So you also know that our people like to stab each other in the back while smiling to their face. Sometimes you need a nice, private place to do that in. Now you've come along and bought out Svart and put a spanner in the works. And all my Dad's old friends? They're looking round the table waiting for someone to blink, for someone to show their hand, and how much they want it. Because whoever has it has control over who gets in, but may run into problems down the line as loyalties shift or whatever. It's potentially a doubled-edged sword. Figure out who made a move first. Maybe you'll be able to work out who fancies it most. The person who thinks they can survive a few stab wounds."

She looked away, picking absent-mindedly at a loose thread in her jeans, before glancing up, her eyes full of meaning he couldn't decipher.

Like she'd given him a clue.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Because you seem genuine? Because you actually came out here to see it and didn't just interrogate me over the phone? It would have been much easier to just wash your hands of it."

A long pause.

"Or maybe it's because I didn't like my father coming out here either. Him or Grandad."

She stood up suddenly and said she'd given him all the information she could.

He thanked her but stayed after she'd locked the lodge and driven off, staring out across the water, the brackish smell blending with the distant sea air.

It made sense that she would be angry about her father's infidelity, especially if he flaunted his affairs, but why be so cryptic about it? Why not just say she had bad memories of the place and wanted it gone? And what did him bringing his girlfriends out here have to do with someone else wanting to buy the land up to use for chummy or not-so chummy business retreats?

All the information she could, not all that she had.

Find out who made a move first. Figure it out from there.

OK.


	7. Chapter 7

Sif was almost offensively obvious in her surprise at seeing him early to work. To be fair, he'd arrived before her for possibly the first time ever, eager to get his investigation underway.

Something about how Lorelei had looked at him, like she trusted him, was spurring him on.

But even after an hour, he had precious little to show for it.

When Asgard bought out Svart, they hadn't made too many of their workers redundant. They still had an almost full quota right up until the deal went through. But for some reason they seemed to have outsourced this case to someone else. And he couldn't find a name anywhere.

It's not like he wanted to jump to conclusions necessarily, but it felt like someone had made this very difficult to find.

Which felt rather odd, if not rather worrying.

"Ever heard of a firm selling hours to outside workers?" he asked Sif.

"I guess. I mean, they were going under. They couldn't afford to take on more staff. Pro rata was probably the only way to even have a hope of fulfilling their contracts before they went bankrupt."

"I suppose so, but... Here, take a look at this."

She obediently came round the desk to look over his shoulder at the empty assignment column.

"Huh. Yeah, that is weird. Have you checked the accounts?"

"No, why?"

She looked up at him. "Well, if you need to talk to whoever this is, maybe Accounting can dig up the receipts of pay from the old Svart books. If we have a start date, maybe they can find a name and you can get in contact. I'll call them right now."

"See, this is why you should be in charge and I should be your assistant."

Sif scoffed. "You'd be no help at all. I'll have this back to you as soon as I can."

He continued going through what information he had. This person, whoever, had to work for one of the other firms in the city and was just doing some freelancing. Maybe they were a part timer just looking to get some extra cash.

It was probably nothing. Someone just wanted a bit of marsh to play in and they were all so paranoid of other people getting ahead that they'd just panicked. Asgard had bought things up and put a stop to any deals until they could look at it and that's all that was weird.

But he said he'd look into his for his father. And Lorelei didn't seem upset that the sale was taking a while, which considering her distaste for the lodge was a little strange. Maybe she wanted him to pick over everything. Maybe she wanted him to find something.

Sif came back into his office with a scrap of paper.

"OK," she said. "Accounting do have traces. The payments went to someone called Angrboda."

"Angrboda who?"

"There isn't so much as an initial. One name. Like Cher. Or Madonna."

Thor snorted. "Thanks, Sif. I guess there can't be too many in the phone book."

In fact, there were none. The mystery realtor was ex-directory, apparently.

Which meant he'd probably have to ask his father and he really didn't want to do that because if it turned out Odin was in any way friendly with this person, then anything potentially weird here would be swept under the rug and Thor would be sent packing. Making all of this a waste.

He needed to know what was going on now. Even if it was nothing, he wanted to find that out. But if it was something, he definitely wanted to know.

He drummed his fingers on the table.

This had started as such an obvious and promising lead but it seemed to have run dry already. So frustrating. He was no good like this, all tense and...

His fingers danced across his phone without him really noting it. Loki picked up on the third ring.

"I'm at work."

"I know, but I... I don't know, I wanted to hear your voice."

Loki's tone softened. "Well, I wish I could talk for longer, but..."

"Do you get lunch? I want to see you. I'll send a car."

"I'll text you."

He hung up. Thor stared straight ahead, taken aback for a moment, until his phone buzzed against his ear.

"Please don't call during office hours. I get lunch 1-2. Maximum 40 mins so I can eat and shower after. No car necessary, just give me taxi money."

A second later, he sent the address of a hotel. Thor knew it. It wasn't overly fancy, but it wasn't exactly cheap either.

It would be perfect.

He tried to ignore Sif's raised eyebrow when he told her he was going out for lunch. He normally bought something in.

Then again, she'd heard the phone call. And put two and two together, probably.

"Have fun," she said brightly as the door swung shut behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki was in the lobby, sitting on one of the tall chairs by the window, eyes scanning over a newspaper but clearly not reading it.

He nodded towards the desk when Thor arrived.

"Payment is here," he said.

The young man behind the desk looked at them with some disgust. Loki had booked them a room under false names for an afternoon.

It was pretty obvious what they were going to do. Thor felt a pang of guilt when accepting the key card. Someone was going to have to clean that room.

But the very second he had Loki alone, all guilt fled his head. He was dragged forward into a kiss that was more force than finesse and came up gasping.

"You're late," Loki said, hurriedly unbuttoning his own shirt. "I want you, now. Prepped myself in the bathroom at work, thinking about you. Come on."

He drew a condom out of his pocket, planting it firmly in Thor's hand. Thor himself was in something of a daze. He'd come from crushing stress to burning lust without enough time to change gear.

Loki whined, slipping out of his cheaper-than-usual clothes, wrapping both arms around his neck.

He yelped and laughed when Thor picked him up, bracing him against the wall, barely out of his suit. Even though Loki had said he was ready, he still wanted to check and was rewarded with soft groans and clenching around his questing fingers.

"I'm so empty, Daddy," Loki said, trying to pull Thor in with his legs. "Hurry."

"You want to be filled up?"

"Yes. Please, I'm aching for it."

Thor was going to ask for more lube, but the way Loki was keening for him and begging chased that thought out of his mind.

It was more difficult than their other encounters, his cock struggling to get past a tighter ring of muscle, but Loki moaned and encouraged him until he was fully inside, taking a moment to catch his breath.

But no, none of that. Loki was in danger of overbalancing as he canted his hips forward, trying to impale himself impossibly deeper, telling Thor to fuck him, now, harder, please...

He didn't need to be told twice. He surged forward, holding Loki up and pounded into him, letting out all his frustration. The generic hotel artwork rattled in time to his thrusts.

Loki's cries became a mess of "yes" and "Daddy" and "please" as he tried to brace his shoulders against the wall and move in couterpoint to Thor's actions, legs tightly gripping his waist, sweat slick against his bare skin.

His blunt nails skittered across Thor's back, moaning into his mouth, suddenly pulling away to _wail_...

Thor's eyes widened as he felt Loki come, cock spurting between their bodies without a touch and aftershocks running through him. It didn't take long for him to finish after that, the twitching of Loki's muscles tipping him over the edge while Loki clung to his neck, panting.

Only then did he walk to the bed and gently lay Loki down on the deep blue bedsheets. He stepped back for a moment to admire the flush on Loki's cheeks, his kiss-swollen lips, how relaxed he looked.

"Checking your handiwork?" Loki chuckled.

"Hmm?"

"I am well-fucked, Thor, and you're the one who fucked me. Stop looking and come here. Come touch me some more."

He didn't immediately. He fetched the fancy deli sandwiches that had made him late first. Loki fell on them as though ravenous.

"We should do this again," Loki said between bites. "I don't know what prompted it, but we should definitely do it again."

"Stress prompted it," Thor admitted, flopping down next to him. "I'm having a little trouble with something at work."

Loki crawled up his body to settle on his chest.

"Talk it out. If you want."

Thor sighed. "I'm looking for someone. And they're proving a little difficult to find. You don't happen to know someone called Angrboda, do you?"

The change was instantaneous. Loki leapt away from him, off the bed, his face a mask of fear.

"Who the fuck have you been talking to?"

Thor tried to calm him down, moving to get up, but Loki grabbed a chair to place between them.

"Don't come near me. Don't touch me. Tell me what the fuck you know and why you know it."

"I swear, this is nothing to do with you. I promise. Angrboda did some work on a case that I inherited and I just need to ask a couple of questions. That's all. I had no idea that you might actually know them. Please, I swear."

Loki seemed to calm down a little. "Yeah, she works in the same business as you, I think."

"Do you know which firm?"

"Yes."

Thor looked at him expectantly but he said nothing.

"I'm not going to breach client confidentiality. Even if that arrangement is over."

"Please, Loki. I'm begging you, just the name of the company. It's not like I'm looking for a full address or anything, I just have a few questions to ask her. It's nothing bad. Please."

Loki still looked positively scared.

"How much money have you got with you, Thor?"

"About 50."

"Can I have 20 for cab fare?"

"You can have all of it for a company name. I will not mention you, I swear."

He fetched his wallet and proffered the notes. Loki snatched them out of his hand, scowling.

"She works at Jotunheim," he mumbled. "I'm going to shower. Please be gone by the time I'm finished."


	9. Chapter 9

Thor cleaned himself up as best he could with tissues and went back to work via his apartment to shower properly.

He sent Loki an apologetic text but received no reply.

Still, he knew something new.

Two new things, actually. For a start, that Loki had female clients. He wasn't sure why he was surprised. There were a lot of wealthy women around, husbands probably off chasing younger girls. Why wouldn't they want to take out a handsome, charming younger man?

It just hadn't occurred to him.

But the other thing was more troubling. 

Jotunheim.

Asgard didn't deal with Jotunheim if they could possibly help it. They had the barest amount of professional contact with them. As little as possible. He wasn't sure why... Or rather, he suspected many reasons, but he wasn't exactly in a rush to call them for help. He'd be very unlikely to get it for a start.

He ended up on their website, clicking through to see if he could find any clue to who Angrboda was.

A reference to her turned up in one of their news blogs. It was the announcement that she had been promoted to partner. So she was at the same level he was.

That didn't sound like someone who would be freelancing for some extra cash.

There were pictures of her too. She was an older woman, probably in her later 50s with a severe bun of black hair streaked with grey. She wasn't exactly unattractive though. Strong features, a smile that seemed true.

He tried to banish the image of Loki fucking her from his mind. How smooth his skin would be next to her crows' feet, her painted nails digging into his back, leaving dark lipstick marks against his mouth...

No, he couldn't call her. She was too high up, too close to their CEO, Laufey. But it told him one thing. Jotunheim probably moved first. They wanted that land to be sold on their terms. Whatever this was, one of their top workers had been on it through a different firm. And they'd made it only just easy enough to find to have deniability. 

But deniability for what?

If the people at Svart had let this happen, that suggested they'd been handsomely paid. And their business had still gone under. Which meant someone had taken the money and got out, someone had brokered the merger with Asgard under Angrboda's nose, someone _wanted_ the deal to be stopped, or at least delayed.

But why, what was it worth? Why did they care so much?

"Sif, do we have a contact number for Malekith? I think it's time I spoke to him about this."

"Well, he was retiring so I wouldn't advise bothering him unless you need to. But you could speak to his former second, Algrim Kurse."

"Do we have a number for him?"

She laughed. "Thor, I know you don't get told much, but he works downstairs. He came to work here after they folded. I assumed you didn't want to flaunt his business going down by talking to him much."

Thor groaned. He really was terrible at his job sometimes. But still, he could literally just go downstairs and ask. If this Kurse fellow had organised the sale of Svart, maybe he had more information.

It was rare for Thor to leave his office. The realtors weren't really his domain. His father sorted that out. In theory, one day they would be, but not yet.

He knocked politely at the door and only just resisted the urge to take a step back when it was opened. He was not a small man, but this Algrim guy was huge. He loomed. And seemed faintly surprised to see him.

"Mr Odinson?"

"Hi. Er. Can I talk to you about a case for just a minute?"

Algrim stepped aside to let him in. Thor wasn't sure if he could trust him though. He'd have to be careful.

They ended up sizing each other up a little. Thor decided not to let his uncertainty show if he could possibly help it.

"Right," he began. "We've got this plot of land to deal with up north and it was worked on by Angrboda from Jotunheim, not any of your workers. I just wondered if you could tell me any more about that so I can move forward with it."

Algrim stared at him for a moment.

"Are we safe to talk here?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, can I be frank with you?"

Thor stared into his dark eyes, looking for a trick or a lie. He saw nothing.

"You can trust me," he said. "I just want to get to the bottom of this."

Algrim sighed. "I don't know much, but I'll tell you what I can. I was practically co-CEO of Svart. I knew we were in trouble. And one day Malekith came into the office and said our problems were over and he had that woman with him, Angrboda, and he said she just needed to use our office for a while."

He got up and paced a little.

"I don't know what she was doing, but it wasn't above board. They were using us as a front. We were their insurance. We would be the ones taking the fall if it came down to it. And whatever that was, I didn't want in. So... I spoke to Malekith about it, my concerns and he said the money was worth it and that it would save the company. And I said it wasn't and... So I agreed that he could take the money, he could have it all, but we'd sell the company before the deal went through. We'd stop it."

"You sacrificed your business for something... Something you didn't even know about?"

He couldn't quite believe it. There had to be something...

Algrim shrugged. "I would rather crash and burn than have our firm be someone else's puppet. So I brokered the deal here very discreetly. Your father kept it secret and he put you in charge, I think because you... No offence, but you do what you're told. And Malekith took the money and ran. Skipped town. We slipped out of their grip before they knew what was happening."

"And you don't know why the land matters to them?"

He sighed. "I assume that it's something less than legal. Probably drugs. That would be my bet. So... I'd try to keep it away from them."

"I will. Thank you. This was very helpful."

"You're smarter than people think. I'm glad you're working on this."

Thor smiled a little and shook his hand before leaving.

OK, so maybe Jotunheim were doing dodgy deals with drug traffickers. Repurposing the lodge as... A base? A storeroom? Maybe it was the sea. Lorelei said, didn't she? That people wanted it for the sea?

Private boats would be a good smuggling tool. No one would question what Laufey had one his yachts.

But ultimately, he hadn't learned anything solid, really. Jotunheim had tried to use Svart as a front to cover their underworld ties. But unless he had anything tangible... 

He definitely wasn't going to tell his father yet. Not until he was able to prove something. Maybe he'd be able to take Laufey down, if he could prove a connection between him and organised crime.

And wouldn't that make Odin proud?


	10. Chapter 10

He was genuinely surprised when Loki showed up at his door on the Thursday holding a plastic bag. They ended up sitting awkwardly next to each other on the couch.

"I wasn't expecting you," Thor said lamely.

Loki shrugged. "This is when we agreed to meet. I figured I should honour our appointment."

"Yeah, but...I upset you. I thought you might not want to see me again."

Loki smiled at him, patting his knee. "It was just a misunderstanding. I thought you'd been breaking the rules of our arrangement, that somehow you'd managed to find an old client. I didn't even think about which circles you might move in for work. It was stupid of me. Angrboda gave me marching orders years ago. There was no... I had no reason to react the way I did."

"Why did she break up with you? If you don't mind me asking."

"Are you trying to get dirt on her?"

Thor's eyes widened. "No. No, not at all. Turns out I didn't have to talk to her anyway. It's just I can't imagine anyone wanting to terminate their arrangement with you."

Loki looked at him a little suspiciously.

"She was using me as a substitute for someone else. Called me his name and everything. And eventually the pretense grew sour and the thrill wore off and she didn't want me anymore."

"I'm sorry."

He scoffed. "It's not like I had feelings for her. She was old enough to be my mother. And the severence package was more than generous."

Loki suddenly looked shy and held out the bag he'd been clutching.

"Anyway, I bought you cake to say sorry for jumping to conclusions."

They ate it in only slightly tense silence. It was delicious.

"I really didn't mean to upset you," Thor said eventually. "I'm sorry and I will do my best not to do it again. I just... I wish you could trust me more."

"I trust you fine, Thor. Most people I would have left immediately for scaring me like that. Most I wouldn't have agreed to meet at lunch in the first place. And none of them would ever get cake from me. I like you. Really, I mean it. It'll take more than a little scare to get rid of me."

That rang true and Thor felt faintly gratified by it. He wanted more, though. He wanted to reward Loki somehow, to prove that his trust was not misplaced. And he was thinking about that night when Loki had torn down his walls and let Thor see him vulnerable. About how he was secretly living behind walls he didn't even build.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked quietly.

Loki smiled. "Of course. You can tell me anything. You know that."

"I'm serious. Can I tell you something secret? Something no one knows?"

And now Loki seemed worried, letting both his hands be clasped in Thor's.

"Can I trust you to take a secret to your grave?"

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that. If it's dangerous, maybe you shouldn't."

"I want to, though. But you have to swear."

"Only if you're sure. I swear never to tell another living soul."

Thor's heart beat hard, his breath sharp.

"I don't deserve to inherit Asgard Developments."

Loki's face split into a grin. "Is that all? That's just privilege guilt. You'll grow into it. Don't worry, when the time comes you'll be great."

"No, I mean the inheritance shouldn't even be mine. It's not my right."

Loki hadn't understood, his expression made that obvious. Thor dropped his hands and ran to his bedroom, dragging a box out of his closet. He put it on the coffee table while Loki watched in confusion.

It took a moment for him to find it. A beaten up old Polaroid of a young woman, a girl really, holding a baby. He handed it to Loki wordlessly and watched as he looked at it.

"Who is this?" he asked after a while.

"The baby is me. And the girl is the Odin child they don't talk about much. That's the eldest, Angela."

Loki frowned slightly. "So, what, your dad skipped over your sister and made you heir? Wow. Your Christmasses must be super fun."

"She's not my sister," Thor said, stumbling over his words, too far gone to turn back now. "Odin and Frigga are not my parents. They adopted me."

Loki shook his head.

"But I've seen pictures. On your website. You and your brother and father are practically identical. You can't not be related to them."

It was like wrenching roots from the ground. He'd never said this to anyone outside family and therapy before.

"Angela is my real mother."

Loki stared at him. And then back to the picture.

"But she's practically a kid here."

"I know. That's the day after I was born. She was 15 when she gave birth. And my parents... My grandparents really, but you know what I mean, they adopted me and told everyone I was Frigga's. They covered it up. They were ashamed."

"Who's your father?"

He couldn't help the way tears sprang into his eyes.

"I don't know. And I don't want to know. I hope that she had a boyfriend the same age as her and it was just a mistake, just a kid's mistake... Because otherwise it was a grown man who used her and I'm not sure I can deal with that thought. The idea of that happening to her."

Loki had pulled his legs onto the couch, hugging his knees.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

It spilled from his lips. The school project that asked for a birth certificate when he was 14, his fruitless search for one, finding the adoption documents instead. How everything had made sense suddenly. Why there were so few pictures of him as a baby, none of his mother pregnant with him. Why Angela was always so sad around him. Because he wasn't meant to be. He wasn't meant to happen to her.

"I was lied to my whole life. And so ever since I found out I'm just... I'm just adrift. I'm living a life that isn't mine. And no matter how much they tell me it's not so, I can't shake that feeling. I'm a lie. I'm a lie on a lie on a lie."

Loki suddenly crawled towards him to cup his face in both hands.

"You deserve to be here. You deserve the life you have. And if you think that's not true, then make it true. Be the person you're afraid you're not. Make it true."

Thor thought about Lorelei on the moor, about Algrim letting his business be sold off, about Angela living happily states away with her husband and her children. His neices. His half-sisters. A million years away from the sad girl in the Polaroid and in his childhood memories.

He opened his arms, and let Loki take him somewhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I missed my calling as a script-writer for soap operas. Please just go with it.
> 
> I promise, this is the only thing that comes completely out of left field. For the other major plot points, the clues are already starting to show up.


	11. Chapter 11

He was drowning. His body was floating somewhere strange, laughter ringing in his ears, harsh and sharp. He could see the faint glimmer of light above him, flickering in and out of sight, the darkness closing in all around.

And then a face, looming out of that darkness, pale skin and shadowed eyes, hair floating like a halo and he tried to reach, tried to touch, couldn't stretch, Loki, come back...

He woke with a start, hands tangled in the sheets.

"It's OK," Loki whispered into the night. "It's alright. I'm here, you're alright."

Thor clung to him, desperate to have something tangible. They might have kissed for hours before he fell asleep, trying to lose himself in the press of lips and slide of tongues.

"I want to feel something. Something real."

"Alright, give me a few minutes to get ready."

"No," Thor said, pulling him back. "I want... I want you to..."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, hoping Loki would feel his motions. He must have done, gently slipping Thor's boxers off and reaching for the bottle of lube.

Thor tried to hold back his sobs as Loki carefully stretched him. It didn't hurt as such - it was unfamiliar after such a long time, not painful - but his emotions were spilling over, desperate to feel something other than the tightness in his chest that he had lived with for so long, unable to breathe because of it.

Loki took his time, laying caresses across Thor's torso with his free hand, placing occasional kisses against his hip.

By the time he was easing inside, a welcome intrusion and point of focus, tears were leaking from Thor's eyes. They must have shone in the darkness because Loki tried to kiss them away, his lips salty when Thor brought their mouths together and arched upwards.

It couldn't be described as frantic or powerful. Deliberate would be more apt. Passionate, maybe. Thor lay gasping beneath each thrust, precise and careful.

He buried his face in Loki's neck, inhaling the scent of him, feeling every roll of his hips, trying not to dig his nails in, even though he wanted to keep Loki here with him forever, to hide from the world and the past and future and Laufey and the lodge.

Loki gradually sped up, drawing moans from Thor's throat by constantly hitting that one spot deep inside him that made his whole body quake.

"I've got you," Loki was whispering. "I've got you. Let go."

Thor shuddered and reached for his cock, neglected as it was. Loki kissed him through his tears, evidently trying his best to distract. And it worked a little. Thor came with a moan, hearing Loki gasp above him a moment later, and allowed himself to be soothed with further kisses.

He lay still as Loki slipped out of bed, returning with a warm damp cloth to wipe him down.

Soft hands ran over his body and through his hair as he finally managed to sleep again, his head against Loki's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

He dreamt that he took Balder to the lodge, but that his brother was blindfolded and couldn't see and no matter how he tried, Thor couldn't remove the material from his eyes.

Loki woke him with coffee, showered and fully dressed.

"I left you as long as I could," he said softly. "But you should really get up and get ready."

Thor sipped his coffee. Milk, no sugar, as he liked it.

"Thank you for...for everything, I suppose. For listening and looking after me last night."

Loki sat down next to him on top of the covers.

"It's why you hate those words, isn't it?" he asked quietly. "Someone said that about Angela."

"My uncle, Vili. It was just after I found out and I overheard my father saying that he didn't know what to do and he wished he'd told me himself and this might really mess me up and... And Uncle Vili said that if Angela hadn't been such a little whore, they wouldn't be in this situation. So...yeah. That's why that word just... Even when I was looking for you, trying to find someone like you, I told myself I wasn't looking for a whore because somewhere in my mind, that's the worst thing. And it's not a judgment on you or on sex workers, it's just I remember that gut-punch feeling that I wasn't wanted, no one wanted me in the world, and that they blamed Angela for me, that everything I ever did wrong was on her and... The guilt ate me for a while. Still does if I let it. It's not the meaning of the word or even that he said it about Angie, it's the memory of it that I hate."

He stopped suddenly, aware that he'd been talking for longer than he'd meant to.

"Your uncle sounds like a dick, if you don't mind me saying so."

Thor shrugged. "He died when I was 18. Car accident, cost my dad an eye as well. And I know you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but... Well, I don't miss him."

Loki ran a hand through his hair.

"Would you like to hear a true thing?" he asked.

Thor felt like he'd perhaps had enough truth for this week, but nodded anyway.

Loki shuffled to his knees and leant closer.

"I want you in the world," he said softly. "And I wish you didn't blame yourself for being born."

He kissed Thor's temple and let himself out. Daytime work calling.


	12. Chapter 12

Thor's main difficulty when it came to trying to covertly uncover an organised drug ring was that he had absolutely no idea how to go about it.

He threw himself into it for a week anyway, taking every dead end in stride. He found every drug bust report he could for the last ten years and spent hours trying to connect them with Laufey through even the most obscure ways. Shared warehouses, shared lawyers, anything.

Blanks everywhere. If Laufey was involved - and Thor had to remind himself that he didn't _know_ that he was, he was just running with Algrim's suspicions - he had covered his tracks well.

Maybe there was nothing so very serious going on. Maybe Laufey just wanted a lodge, somewhere to go boating or whatever, and was trying to get the deal done under the table. Which was wrong but not necessarily illegal.

Thor was probably a massive thorn in his side now, stalling putting the land back on the market.

If he did that, Laufey would be free to move in and buy it personally as a private owner. So would everyone else in town. And then what they did with it would be none of Thor's business. He'd only find out if he trespassed. And that would be enough of a loophole for Laufey to walk away if he was doing anything...

He was just running on suspicions. He couldn't keep the land off the books forever. Dad would come checking on him soon too.

Balder called him late on the Wednesday, apparently worried about him.

"I'm just busy," Thor said truthfully. "Sorry, I've been swamped. With the swamp."

"That much work needed?"

He hesitated. "Are you alone?"

Balder laughed. "Calm down, Columbo. Yes, I'm alone."

"It's... It's weird, Balds. There's something not right. And I don't know what, but I want to find out so I'm looking."

"What kind of not right?"

"Illegal not right. Please, don't tell Dad. If it's nothing, I don't want to make a fool of myself. Just let me handle it."

"OK, but I think he's expecting results soon. Maybe by your birthday."

God, that was only a week away. He needed more time than that.

"Well, he'll have to wait till after. I'm going away for my birthday. Treating myself to a couple of weeks."

That was a lie but could so easily become true.

"Dad's not gonna like that, Thor."

"But my birthday always sucks. It brings up all manner of stuff that it shouldn't. So I don't want to think about that this year, I want to leave and go read by a pool somewhere."

"OK. You're right. And it's your birthday, you should decide how you spend it."

If he had two more weeks, he could find something, go away and do some proper research and...

He could ask Loki to come with him.

He said goodbye to Balder and called Loki immediately. His phone rang out. Oh. OK. Must be busy.

Thor was looking at hotels up north that they could run away to when his mobile buzzed.

"I can't tonight. Sorry."

Thor blinked. "Hello to you too. No, I wanted to... Look, it's my birthday soon."

"Is it? Oh. When? I'll do something special for you."

"Um... OK, but I wanted to ask if you'd like to come away with me to a fancy hotel for a couple of weeks. From about next Friday."

Loki was quiet for a minute before replying. "I'll have to check with work, but they're usually fine with time off. I'll let you know."

Thor grinned to himself. "Great. I'll be doing work for most of it, but there'll be a pool and stuff. You can do whatever you want. I'll let you get back to...whatever..."

"Thor, wait. Talk to me a minute."

"But aren't you... With another client?"

"I'm with a crushingly boring old man who can't get it up anymore but who likes to watch me get myself off, and I've snuck off to the bathroom in this restaurant just before we go home so I have a little privacy to talk to you so... Give me a little inspiration for tonight?"

"You want me to have phone sex with you so you're all...hot and can get off quickly?"

"Please, Daddy."

Thor let out a shuddering breath. He didn't much like the idea of Loki being with other people, but the idea of Loki thinking of him while he was with other people had its appeal.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Jerk yourself off while I talk to you."

Thor's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that. His hand slipped to his fly, struggling with the zip a little.

"OK, I'm... I'm doing it," he said, rapidly stroking himself.

"Got your hard cock in your hand? All firm and hot, little bead of come at the slit?"

"Yeah. Yeah, exactly."

"Mmm, I bet it looks good. I wish I was there with you. I wish I could wrap my lips around you and suck you dry."

"Fuck, Loki..."

"We could do that too, if you wanted. I'd get myself ready while you were recovering, riding my fingers to get myself stretched out. Maybe you could help me. Slide your finger in next to mine, press in as I slid out. It would feel so good, Daddy, never being empty, your thick fingers holding me open."

Thor's hand was speeding up, harsh tugging motions, little grunts escaping his throat.

"You're close," Loki said. "I can hear it. You make the best sounds when you're balls-deep inside me, like you can't quite believe what you're feeling and your cock twitches just right. I love the feel of it, I love being filled by you. God, just thinking about it makes me want to come see you right now and get fucked properly."

Thor let out a gasp, his hips thrusting up into his fist, the leather of the couch protesting at such treatment, he just needed a little more...

"You gonna come? Gonna come for me, Daddy, hearing how much I love it when you pound into me? I want to hear it, I want to hear you let go..."

He didn't hold back, crying out as his cock jerked and spurted in his hand, making a mess of his couch, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Thanks," Loki said. "That'll help a lot. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Thor gasped, still amazed at what had just happened. "Tomorrow."


	13. Chapter 13

Sif was a little surprised that he was doing anything for his birthday. Normally he let it slip by without ceremony.

But she was nothing if not sharp and understood instantly when he said he was going away for a while.

"You're taking _him_ with you, aren't you?"

Thor sighed. "Yes. I am. I want to get away for a little while and I'd like some company so I asked him along."

"I don't... Please, don't think I'm judging you, but be careful. He's not your boyfriend."

"I know. I know he's not, but I... I like him. I'm starting to rely on him. It's nice to have someone."

"Just don't let your heart run away with you. That's all I'm saying. It's his job to make you feel good. Don't get too attached."

He laughed. "I'm not too attached. I'm not... I've not fallen in love with him."

"Yet. But alright. Enjoy your romantic time away and try to hold onto your head."

He couldn't bring himself to be cross with Sif. From the outside, his relationship with Loki was moving fast. It was moving fast from the inside. But it felt right somehow. He'd never met anyone else willing to put up with his issues.

And yes, Loki was _paid_ to put up with his issues but... He could have left by now. He was going beyond what he had to. Thor couldn't shake the feeling that Loki did like him, he was telling the truth about that. That he found him good company, that he genuinely liked being around him. That he liked having sex with him.

He tried to shake those concerns out of his mind. They were going to go away together for a whole two weeks, where they could relax and just be together and he could get ahead on his investigation.

And he wouldn't have to spend his birthday with family, awkwardly smiling through the lies, the weight of the truth crushing him.

He found his mind wandering off into ideas of just running away from it all forever. He could go somewhere and change his name and ask Loki to come too. Leave it all behind.

But he'd had these thoughts as soon as he was old enough to leave. They were just day dreams.

He was completely ready for Loki to arrive. For the first time since their arrangement started, he felt relaxed beforehand and Loki seemed to notice the change.

"You're really comfortable," he said, half lying on Thor on the couch.

"Thanks," Thor murmured.

Loki laughed. "No, I didn't mean physically. Although that as well. I meant you seem really chilled tonight. There's normally a view minutes when you're really nervous."

"I feel...safe with you. I don't know, I feel like you know my biggest secret so now I don't have to hide. I can just...exist with you."

Loki picked up one of his hands, comparing the size of their palms and lacing their fingers together.

"So where are you taking me next week?"

"Four-star, indoor pool, room service, gym."

"Nice. But you said you had to work?"

Thor sighed slightly and dragged Loki to lie fully on top of him, hands spanning his ribs.

"Yeah. Basically my dad wants me to finish something and I need more time so I'm going to get it done. Hopefully. I might not. I'm just worried about it. I have totally baseless assumptions and I can't tell if I'm just paranoid or if I'm picking up on something real."

"Is it the wetlands?"

Thor stiffened. "Yeah. How did you...?"

"You've mentioned it before. You'll work it out. I have faith."

Thor really didn't want to think about it. Not right now. He just wanted to lie here with Loki on top of him and dream of being far away.

"When did you manage to get off work?" he asked.

"From next Friday, like you said. So we could leave on Thursday night if you wanted."

"Yeah. Yeah, that would be good. I'll probably be later than you, but I'll give you the spare keys so you can let yourself in here and we can leave as soon as I'm ready."

Loki twisted his head to the side for a kiss.

"No one has ever taken me on a trip before."

"It's hardly a trip. It's just a hotel up state."

"Still. It's nice of you. I'm looking forward to it."


	14. Chapter 14

Time being of the essence, Thor decided he should try a direct approach with his investigation. The grand total of people he knew might have information was pretty small.

He found himself drawing up lists of who knew what.

Lorelei. Owner of the land. Father and grandfather used the lodge as a love nest. Keen to see it go, but not desperate. Possibly knows what the use for the lodge will be. Possibly doesn't.

Algrim. Knows that Jotunheim were trying to purchase the land on the sly, probably for Laufey's personal use. Suspects drug trafficking. Doesn't actually know.

Malekith. Potentially knows the reason Laufey wants the land. Whereabouts unknown. Apparently scared enough to run.

Algrim swore that he didn't know where Malekith could be found and that he would absolutely say if he did. But he did mention that he had other contacts who might. Thor managed to get him to promise to try to find a contact number for his former boss as soon as possible.

It was likely that Odin would have information, but frankly Thor didn't trust him not to take this away if he thought Thor was in too deep.

Really, he needed someone who was angry at Laufey, enough to offer him information. He needed someone who had been high up in Jotunheim, but had left and might sell them out.

It was all very underhand of him.

He spent days reading up on Laufey. He lived with his beloved wife, Farbauti. He had three sons, Lopt, Helblindi and Byleister. There was virtually no chance of them being any help. 

Every potential lead he managed to find a trace of seemed to be impossible to contact or, in some cases, dead.

Except one.

Hela, CEO of HELA, an imaginative naming decision if ever there was one, had started out working for Jotunheim before branching out in her own accounting company.

It was a long shot. A very long shot.

And it took hours to get hold of her, Sif trying to argue with and sweet talk an army of PAs until finally Hela herself was on the line.

"Make it quick," she said. "Much as I admire your tenacity, I have other things to do."

"You used to work for Jotunheim, right? Why did you leave?"

There was a long, icy pause.

"Difference of opinion. That's the polite way of saying it."

"What's the impolite way?"

She chuckled at that, a raspy, gutteral sound. "If you must know, it's because that family were involved in something that I didn't want to be part of."

"What?"

"I'm not quite sure, but there were definitely gaps in the books. I worked in the cash room, climbing the ladder for twenty years and when I noticed, I assumed it was a mistake and tried to bring it up. They offered me a generous amount of money to keep my mouth shut and quietly keep working for them."

"But you didn't. You left. Why didn't you tell the police?"

"I did, but by the time they were investigated, they had learned to cover their tracks better. I was defanged. It's probably the only reason I'm still working in this state. Laufey likes seeing me around and knowing he beat me."

Thor sighed and thanked her.

"Do you think you've got something?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe. It might be nothing. Or not proof."

"Well, good luck. And be careful. You're Odin's eldest boy, aren't you? I used to know your sister. She was a few years below me at school and always around at the garden parties when I was starting out. Nice girl. Tell her I was asking about her, won't you?"

Thor said that he would, with no intention of actually doing so.

Laufey was definitely not completely honest in his business. The question was exactly what he was up to.

Thor sighed and got back to sifting through potential contacts.


	15. Chapter 15

"Everyone knows, Sif," he said helplessly a few days later. "Everyone knows they're crooked but no one will tell me anything. Or they're dead."

"Maybe that's why. From what you've been saying, people who go against Jotunheim either run away or turn up dead in accidents suspiciously often. That's probably why your dad won't deal with them."

Perhaps. It was frustrating. They all knew and turned away. And no one would tell him anything.

"Thor, are you alright? You're not caught up in this too deeply?"

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm fine. I just having been sleeping too well. Don't worry. I don't know anything worth killing for. I'm not going to be murdered."

"I wish I could be sure. You're playing with fire."

There wasn't much he could say to that.

"Will everything be alright while I'm gone?"

She struck him with a disbelieving look. "Of course. Go away and have fun. Sleep with your friend. And have a good birthday, old man."

He laughed, possibly for the first time all week, and ducked out of work ten minutes early.

Loki was waiting for him in his kitchen, sipping ice tea straight from the fridge. Apparently it put him in a travelling mood.

"Ready to get away?"

Thor dragged his packed suitcase out of the bedroom. 

"I don't think I've ever been more ready."

They clattered down the stairs, Loki's tiny rolling luggage seeming very small.

"You've not brought much," Thor observed.

"Well, I doubt I'll be wearing too many clothes so there didn't seem a lot of point in carrying them."

Thor tried to ignore the images blooming in his mind of Loki spending the next 14 days casually naked, or perhaps only nude from the waist down, emphasizing it.

"Don't worry though," Loki said once they were about to get under way. "I brought something special for your birthday."

Thor glanced at him. "What?"

"It's a surprise. But you'll like it. And no peeking in my bag. If you do I'll know and then you won't get any presents."

"I'm getting presents?"

There was a little pause.

"Your present is sex. In case you get your hopes up for something more permanent. But interesting, unusual sex like you haven't had before."

"That is a perfectly acceptable gift. I'm excited already."

A two hour drive had never felt so long. Thor felt he could breathe a little easier as they left the city and headed into the dusk. Somehow it was safer out here. They were both safer.


	16. Chapter 16

The girl behind the desk beamed at them, explaining the breakfast order forms, the gym, the pool, the in-house cinema, laundry, room service...

It was hard for Thor to concentrate when Loki was ever so softly and subtly brushing the fingers of his left hand against his crotch, hidden by their bodies. Even such little stimulation had him stirring, his face starting to heat up and his hands shaking slightly as she handed him two key cards and wished them a nice stay.

He had to half waddle to the elevator, pretending that his suitcase weighed a great deal and was unbalancing him.

And any ideas he had of shoving Loki up against the mirrored surfaces were crushed by the arrival of an elderly couple. He smiled politely at them, willing for them to leave and definitely not to notice just how tight his trousers had become. 

The key card couldn't work fast enough for him, dumping his bag to seize Loki around the waist and throw him onto the bed, cushions scattering around him as he squealed with surprise.

Thor almost tore his clothes in his effort to be free, Loki looking at him, biting his lower lip. Probably just for effect, but it drove Thor crazy. The demureness of it, how it made him seem unsure, even though he was the most adventurous sexual partner Thor had ever had.

He slapped Thor's hands away when he tried to get him naked too.

"Don't you remember what I said on the phone?" he asked.

Thor blinked at him. "That...you like the sounds I make."

"No, no, before then."

"Your other client was boring as hell."

Loki laughed. "No, between those two things. I said I wanted to suck your cock, didn't I? Well, I'm going to."

Condoms were still a necessity. He'd even brought flavoured ones to make the experience better for himself. Thor ended up resting back against the pillows, watching Loki's head bobbing and feeling the heat of his mouth.

But even when Loki leant forward and took him impossibly deep, right into the grip of his throat, he had to admit that he preferred the kind of sex where Loki talked to him and kissed him during it.

That said, the sheer combination of sensation and pent-up frustration from the last few days still had him coming with a shudder, almost embarrassingly quickly.

Not that Loki seemed to mind, crawling back up the bed to kiss him, tasting faintly of artificial vanilla, and to run his hands over his bare chest.

"Now that we've got the edge off, we can call for dinner."

Dinner. Yes. Yeah, that was a good idea. And a good idea that Loki was still clothed too, so he could answer the door.

He stripped as soon as their food arrived. They sat curled together just under the covers and fed each other with their bare hands, tipping plastic wine glasses against each others lips.

Apart from the champagne on their first meeting, Thor had never drunk with Loki. He knew his own face had a habit of becoming flushed but Loki remained pale, the purple staining on his lips making him look intensely gothic and alluring.

Thor ran a thumb over his lower lip, unable to stop himself, getting a grin in return.

He didn't even wake up during the night worrying about the lodge. That alone made this a success.


	17. Chapter 17

Bringing Loki along on what was meant to be a working holiday was either the best or worst decision.

The best because he never had a chance to be frustrated. A mere sigh had Loki coming up behind him half the time to ask what was wrong and kiss his neck and generally keep him away from annoyance.

And the worst idea because Thor was continually distracted. Even when Loki left the suite to go swimming or to the gym or whatever, he'd get a couple of hours done before the door opened and Loki decided to make him take a break.

He'd come to the conclusion that all Loki's suitcase contained was condoms and lubricant. He certainly seemed to have an inexhaustible supply.

The rest of the time, they acted like newly-weds or excited kids in their first relationship. Holding hands in the corridors, kissing across the table at breakfast, making out in the back row of the hotel cinema.

Making out and more. Thor had never been one for exhibitionism, but it was a little hard to resist when Loki decided he was going to jerk him off in the dark during a special screening of Casablanca.

He'd never look at Humphrey Bogart the same way again.

Progress on the possible criminal activities of Jotunheim was painfully slow. No new information came his way and even checking his work emails and messages turned up nothing from Algrim.

It was becoming obvious that he was going to have to put the wetlands up for sale. He couldn't prove anything. Maybe an anonymous tip off to the cops might do something, but he was also starting to suspect that the police might be in Laufey's pay. It was the only way they could be getting away with it all without repercussions.

"Am I going too far?" he asked Loki more than once. He tried to keep the exact details a secret, names, locations and so on, but he figured it couldn't hurt to give him the vague outline.

"No," Loki would say. "You're just suspicious. If you really think these people are involved in the drug trade, you're not going to be satisfied until you know."

So he kept at it, seeking every route he could think of. And still nothing.

He was concerned that his frustration made him a rougher lover than usual, but Loki seemed to like it. He was still careful not to bruise or scratch him, even accidentally, but he did discover that Loki rather liked having his hair pulled a little. He found himself fascinated by the extent to which Loki could arch his spine when on his hands and knees and his head being steadily forced back.

The cleaning staff were tipped very well. Really Thor spent more than he meant to, what with room service always available for them to instantly sate their appetites without needing to leave the suite. He'd have put on weight if it weren't for all the aerobic exercise he was getting.

The days blurred together. He didn't have much success work-wise, but he fancied he would one day think of this as the happiest time in his life. Far away from so many of his day-to-day issues, ridiculously comfortable surroundings, and someone to dote upon and fall asleep with and talk to.

He really could have got used to it.

"You didn't tell me which day was your birthday," Loki said over the top of the paperback he was reading on their last full day. "So I've saved my surprise for tonight."

Thor looked round from his laptop. "I thought I'd already had my surprise. You tied me to the bed on my birthday. I thought that was my present."

"Well, I wondered why you were particularly grateful that night. I assumed you'd just discovered a new kink. But anyway, I need you to not be here for a couple of hours this evening while I get ready. Go to the pool. It's nice at night, they light it from the inside. But just a warm up. I don't want you tiring yourself out."

They ate early, almost in the afternoon, so Thor could leave. He was under strict instructions about what time to return. He was just to walk in. Loki would be waiting.

The pool was in the basement. Sure enough, it was lit under the water, looking like some kind of interdimensional portal and practically deserted. The ceiling was decorated with a fake classical-style fresco of the constellations and lying on his back, Thor could see that the larger stars were picked out in tiny lights, twinkling like the real thing.

Since there was no one around, he just floated, occasionally sculling his way diagonally across the pool.

His thoughts wandered purposelessly. About the lodge and what its capacity for heroin or cocaine might be. About what on earth could be taking Loki two hours. About being yet another year on earth. About going back to work in just a couple of days. About this strange, stolen, dream-like couple of weeks.

Once his time had elasped and he'd done his best to wash the chlorine smell from his hair, drying it with the little wall dryer, he walked slowly back upstairs, anticipation rising with every step.

He stood outside their room for a moment, took a deep breath and opened the door.


	18. Chapter 18

The lights were dimmed to their lowest levels. Thor walked into the suite cautiously, not at all sure what he was going to find.

"Loki?"

"I'm in the bedroom, Daddy. Turn up the lights."

He tapped his hand along the wall, trying to find the dial. He could just make out the dark shape of Loki sitting on the bed.

The brighter light had him blinking for a moment before he could look and see.

Loki grinned at him, lips painted, eyelashes fluttering to reveal smoked eyelids. He rose to his knees to better show off the outfit, matte black stockings complete with garters and belt, his chest bare but dusted in some kind of gold glitter, making him positively shine.

"I knew you'd like this," he said, kicking his legs off the bed to stand and stalk towards where Thor was still standing, dumbstruck.

"I didn't have space for the heels," Loki continued, faux-apologetically. "Because I brought some things for you to wear. If you want to."

Thor's mouth was dry, he could barely speak. He pulled Loki forward, getting a slightly surprised yelp, to crush their mouths together. Loki's lipstick was thoroughly smudged by the time he was done.

"Was that a yes? Would you like to dress up with me?"

He'd never considered it before, wearing lingerie. Hadn't really thought about it potentially being attractive on men. But with Loki here in front of him looking for all the world like walking sex, he wasn't going to say no.

"I just hope it fits me," he said.

Loki looked thoroughly delighted and Thor wished he looked like that all the time as he was led to the bathroom.

"I thought corsetry might be a little advanced for the moment. Same for heels. I've just brought along a couple of things to make you look pretty."

'A couple of things' turned out to be elasticated stockings, sheer with just a hint of silver running through the weave, and a loose red camisole in satin that clung to his chest like he actually had cleavage.

He even sat still for Loki to apply the barest amount of make up, getting him to blink the mascara on and showing him how to properly press his lips together to smooth out lipstick.

By the time they were done and Loki was getting him to look in the mirror, he felt transformed.

Transformed into an unconvincing drag act - and the beard was not helping - but transformed all the same.

In the reflection, Loki was eying him hungrily and in his ear was telling him how beautiful he looked and how glad Loki was to be able to share this with him, fingers slipping down the bare tops of his thighs.

He carried Loki back to the bed, blending their lipstick shades and leaving kiss marks on any piece of skin he could reach.

For all the kinkiness of having dressed up in lingerie for sex, Thor found himself in the mood for something tender, sitting up with Loki straddling him, gently rocking against him before they even got started. Loki wasn't wearing any proper underwear and two fingers slipped easily inside. 

The purpose of two hours alone was becoming clearer and clearer. Loki sighed and clenched, almost riding his hand.

And then he reached back and...

"Loki? Loki, wait, condom..."

Loki blinked at him as though coming back from a dream.

"Right," he said. "Yeah, you're right. Just...carried away."

He seemed to be shaking his head slightly as he came back from his suitcase as though scolding himself. But the mask soon descended and he was straddling Thor again, grinding back against his newly-sheathed cock.

His glittered skin moved like snake scales, undulating and writhing in Thor's lap. When he reached back again, Thor was reaching a state of desperation. He thrust upwards carefully, gaining breathy gasps from Loki as he tried to find a rhythm.

Eventually they managed it, Loki holding on the Thor's shoulders to brace himself and roll his hips, Thor supporting his thighs, garters taut beneath his hands, and rocking forwards.

Their foreheads pressed together, sharing air, breath speeding up into sighs and moans. Thor tipped his head to the side to slip their lips together, perfectly content to stay like this for hours, just holding each other and being joined.

He got the distinct feeling that Loki had expected something rougher as he seemed surprised by everything. Soft kisses at his neck, gentle squeezing of his thigh, Thor whispering against his ear that he was wonderful and perfect.

One moment he was gently riding Thor, the next it was as though his control snapped and he began canting forward, seeking what he wanted, teeth nipping just a little at Thor's flesh. Not that Thor was complaining. He was just trying to hold on to this wild creature.

"Remember our lunch meeting?" Loki asked, voice jolting. "And I came untouched? I want to do that again. Please, give it to me, Daddy."

Thor tipped him backwards, hands coming up to cradle his head and waist before finding their way back to his thighs. This wasn't about force, it was about finding the right spot and not relenting.

He tilted Loki's hips up, holding him in place, feeling the soft stockings rub against his back, and set about finding it, listening for just the right reaction. And once he had it...

Loki practically thrashed beneath him, crying out with each thrust and managing only half sentences.

"I'm so close, I'm so fucking close, fuck... Oh, fuck, Thor... Don't stop, please, don't stop..."

Words soon gave way to gutteral cries, Thor gritting his teeth as he forced his body to keep moving at this punishing pace, made himself keep going until finally, _finally_ , Loki shook beneath him, cock jerking and spilling against his stomach.

The evident oversensitivity of his body didn't stop him bucking up against Thor, surprising an orgasm out of him, leaving him slumped, breathless, still on top.

"Happy birthday, Daddy."

Thor laughed into his chest. It was. It really was. This had been the happiest birthday he could remember since being a kid. He had no intention of moving or changing till the morning. He could fall asleep right here.

"My assistant thinks I'm getting too attached to you," he mumbled. 

Loki seemed to think about this for a moment.

"Well, I think I might be getting attached to you, so it's probably a fair exchange."

Thor nuzzled against him a little longer before rolling off to remove the condom, pulling in for proper post-sex cuddles immediately after.

"I wish we didn't have to leave," Loki said. "I love being here with you."

"Yeah. I love it too."

Maybe he meant more than that. He genuinely wasn't sure. But for now, with Loki in his arms, he was happy.


	19. Chapter 19

It was a little difficult to convince Loki to get up the next morning. Not that Thor particularly wanted to emerge from their glittery, make-up smeared nest either.

Loki was managing to wear last night's mascara with a degree of dignity which Thor was not able to claim he matched upon spotting his face in the mirror. Panda eyes, lipstick stains on his face, stockings presumably lying rumpled in the blankets somewhere.

He had to peel off the camisole, sweat-stuck to him, covered in body glitter that definitely wasn't going to fully come off...

The shower felt divine. The hot water ran over his skin, easing any pain from the previous night's exertions. It was even better when Loki slipped in beside him to save time. They weren't able to do anything more than kiss and try to soap each other down before they had to get dressed, throwing their things back into cases and rushing to get checked out.

The girl on the desk seemed sad to see them go. Possibly they were the source of great gossip among the staff, the stained sheets and abandoned ties on the headboard. The state they'd left the room in from last night would probably be fueling stories for years. Thor couldn't even remember if he'd put the condom in the trash and felt a pang of guilt for whoever dealt with it.

He decided to take a scenic route home. A slightly more interesting way than the main roads they'd taken on the way out.

"Did you actually manage to get much work done?" Loki asked.

"No, but... That was more to do with there not being much I _can_ do. Which is irritating but... It can't be helped."

Loki hummed in agreement, thumbing through Thor's CD collection.

He wasn't sure what possessed him to drive to the wetlands. Loki had fallen asleep about twenty minutes into the drive, seemingly all tuckered out from the comparatively early start. They'd got used to not having alarms. He woke up as Thor stopped the car in the little parking area.

"This isn't home," he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"No, this is the land that's been giving me so much trouble. Look, there's the lodge I mentioned. The possible drug den."

There was no warning. Loki opened his eyes fully, took one look and lunged for Thor's arm.

"Take me home," he said. "Take me home, right now."

Thor looked down at him, all fear and heavy breathing suddenly.

"Are you alright?"

"Take me home! I want to go home. Please, just take me away from here."

Thor threw his car into reverse and left, Loki panting next to him.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" he asked.

"I've been there before."

Thor frowned, glancing away from the road.

"What, with a client or...? Loki, did something happen?"

"Thor, I swear, I will throw up if you keep asking me questions."

He tried for a reassuring touch to a shoulder, but Loki squirmed away, making himself as small as possible.

Thor drove in worried silence, definitely breaking the speed limit, determined to get home and to the bottom of this. The familiar city buildings began to surround them.

"Where are we going?" Loki asked suddenly.

"Home. I'm taking you home."

"But you don't know where I live."

They were stopped at traffic lights and Thor could only watch as Loki tore off his seatbelt mumbling something about taxis.

"Do you have money?" he asked as Loki practically threw himself out of the car. "Loki, do you have any money for a cab?"

He didn't get so much as a backward glance as Loki fled and vanished from view.


	20. Chapter 20

He didn't know how he got home. But he was there, he was climbing his stairs, carrying his suitcase and Loki's. 

He was walking in his front door, dumping the bags, picking up two weeks' worth of mail. He couldn't figure it out. They'd been so relaxed. So happy. And suddenly Loki was running from him with just the coat on his back.

Loki's phone went to voicemail after two rings. He tried leaving messages and texting a few times an hour.

"Loki, please call me. I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me anything, just let me know you're alright."

"Please, Loki. Just a text to tell me you're safe."

"I have your stuff, just call me if you want it."

At a loss for what to do, he unpacked his bag to do laundry. Loki's too. He might as well return his stuff clean.

He lunged for his phone when it beeped a text at him. He'd take anything right now.

"Dear Client," it read. "I realise this is sudden, but I am leaving the escort business, effective immediately. Please cancel any scheduled payments. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours. Kind regards, Loki."

Thor stared at the text and tried calling again.

The phone didn't so much as ring.

This was his fault. Whatever he'd done, whatever he'd made Loki remember, he was cutting ties and leaving.

He was a little too stunned to quite process the idea of not seeing Loki again. He went blindly through his routine, cleaning what needed cleaned, hanging up the laundry when it finished.

Loki would call him. He'd explain. Thor wasn't like his other clients, they had an understanding of each other. He would get an explanation just for him, a personal message of goodbye.

Or maybe not goodbye. Maybe they could see each other as real partners. Maybe they could build something together, on equal terms.

That hope started to die as the evening drew into the night.

Thor tried to distract himself with his mail, organising his bills and other correspondence.

He stopped at an unexpected hand-written envelope, drawing out the card inside.

"To a wonderful brother."

His hands shook as he opened it, knowing what he would read.

"Happy Birthday, Thor. With love from Angie, Gary and the girls."

Thor set it down carefully on the table.

He made it into bed before the tears came.


	21. Chapter 21

Sif wiped a speck of glitter from his face when he arrived at work, almost certainly seeing him wince at it. He'd tried used to get rid of it, scrubbing his skin in the shower, but little bits kept showing up.

"How was your time away?" she asked.

"Fine."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Just fine?"

He sighed. "I did exactly what you told me not to. I got attached. And now... Now he's gone."

Sif hesitated before awkwardly hugging him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You really seemed to like him."

"Please just tell me there's something to distract me today."

"Well, Algrim wants to see you, if that works."

Not really, but he'd take it.

Algrim was very excited that he was back.

"I'm really sorry I didn't call sooner, but he was really determined that there be no time between you knowing and going. He's very paranoid. Doesn't want you telling anyone from Jotunheim. I kept telling him that you wouldn't, but this is the best I could do."

"What?"

"Malekith. He's willing to meet you today. In 40 minutes. I know, it's super short notice, but..."

Thor sat up sharply. This was something. Finally an actual meeting. He took down the address Algrim gave him, realised he'd have to leave pretty much immediately if he was going to make it on time, and ran upstairs to have Sif cancel his appointments. Not that he had many.

She seemed pleased that he had something to occupy himself and wished him luck as he headed out.

Of course, he had met Malekith before. They'd both been present for the sale of Svart, but he barely recognised the haunted face that nodded at him from the back of the tiny cafe on the edge of town. Although that might have been the hoodie disguising his familiar stately baring. He was very jumpy, continually watching the door.

"I have had it up to the back teeth with you, Odinson," he growled without so much as a handshake. "People calling me, putting me at risk. What do you want?"

"The wetlands. They were being sold on the sly by Jotunheim. Was Laufey buying them himself?"

"Yes. They decided it would be safer, legally, to pretend to go through us."

"And he's going to break the law on that land?"

Malekith looked at him incredulously. "He's already broken the law on that land. Everyone knows that. They all have, all his cronies, everyone in that little rich boy club. It's been going on for decades. His father started it, all those years ago. Laufey just wants more control over it."

Thor frowned. "They've been smuggling drugs up there for decades?"

"What do you mean, drugs?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean drugs?"

"They don't smuggle drugs up there. Have you been to the lodge? Seen it?"

"Yeah, it's nice. Very lounge-y. Feels like a bar or something."

"Not at all a warehouse, huh? Think about it, boy. What illegal thing is done on soft furnishings?"

Thor frowned, still not seeing it.

Malekith sighed. "You really don't understand?"

A shake of the head.

"It's a brothel, Odinson. Laufey's buying the whorehouse."

The feeling of sickness hit him like a punch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned about the short chapters, right?  
> I'm sorry. I'm a wham line addict.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I already put warnings, but just in case, this chapter and several from here on feature frank discussion of sexual abuse.
> 
> Nothing is graphic, but I'd rather you turn back now than be triggered.
> 
> A more spoiler-y warning can be found in the end notes.

"It's pretty simple. They take girls up there and then rich old men pay to fuck them. A nice little money earner for Laufey already, and if he owns the land, he can stop sharing the profits quite so much."

It made sense. It made so much sense. 

Lorelei talking about her father and grandfather taking girls up there. They weren't lovers, they were prostitutes.

He wasn't even going to think about what had prompted Loki's reaction to seeing it.

"You alright?" Malekith asked, seeming almost genuinely concerned.

"When you say 'everyone knows'... Who all knows?"

"Pretty much everyone who works with Jotunheim. The police are in on it too. I think they get perks for burying evidence. Free sessions and the like."

He was so casual about it. Thor struggled to keep his breathing under control.

"How long did you say? Decades?"

Malekith shrugged. "30 years or so. It started off as just a place for various affairs to take place. And then they started picking up girls, young girls, that they knew and looking for prostitutes and now they run their own."

30 years. Young girls. Young girls that they knew...

No, no, no, no, _no..._

"How young is young?"

"I don't know. It's not exactly my scene."

"But you know about it. You've known for years. Everyone knows? Does my father?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's probably not said anything for the same reason that I haven't. The police are useless and people who challenge Laufey have a nasty habit of turning up dead. You can't prove anything."

"So, what? We do nothing? We let them keep doing this?"

"You do what you want. I'm staying alive. And if that's all you want to know, I'll be getting back to safety."

Thor stared at the table once Malekith had left. The little grains of sugar were somehow fascinating to him.

He had to stop this. He wasn't going to stand by and let this continue. Everyone looked away, well, not him.

Sif sounded concerned by his tone of voice when he called her to say he wasn't going to come back for the rest of the day.

"Where are you going? Are you sure you should be driving? You don't sound well."

He scrubbed the tears from his eyes.

"I'm fine. I'm going up north to speak to Lorelei about the land."

"I need you to sign off on someone's resignation. One of the data entry team wants to cut off their notice period for family reasons. Thor, really, you sound awful."

"Sif, please, just... Forge my signature. Let whoever go if they need to go. And thank Algrim for me. Seriously, I'm... I'm on to something really important. I have to do this. I'm sorry."

He jerked his car into gear and headed north.

Lorelei was understandably surprised to see him unannounced.

"Mr Odinson. If I'd known you were coming, I'd have dusted."

"Tell me about the brothel, Lorelei."

For a second, she clearly considered lying to him. And he wouldn't have blamed her. He was at her door, unexpected, eyes bloodshot and shadowy.

But instead she slumped and waved him inside.

"I could tell you didn't know," she said. "You genuinely had no idea. And so then I started to hope that you'd maybe figure it out. And you have. Well done."

She'd led him into a huge parlour, all soft lighting and pastels.

"Why haven't you tried to stop it?" Thor asked helplessly.

She flopped down on the couch. "How would I do that? By myself? The police can't help, or won't help. Everyone just looks away. My own mother couldn't protect me from them."

Thor's jaw dropped. "You mean you...?"

"And my sister. She's left it behind her. Made something of her life, has a job, supports herself. Me, on the other hand? 24 years old and I'm still on my parents' accounts for everything. It's stay or be homeless. And maybe Amora would take me in, but... I don't want to leave Mom on her own. At least once it's sold, I can know that I'm not getting income from it anymore."

"So you do now?"

"Not right now. Renting the land is illegal while it's up for sale. You're quite the annoyance in the house of Jotunheim."

Thor nodded helplessly.

"I didn't know," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. And I'm going to stop it."

She laughed in his face. "You? By yourself? Good luck."

"I have to try. I can't live with this on my conscience. Knowing that I turned away from abuse like this. Please, help me."

"I can't. I don't know where to start. I want it gone, I'd burn it down if I could. But I won't risk myself and I certainly won't risk my mother."

"How did you...stop? If you don't mind me asking."

She stared at the floor for a while.

"They don't use their own daughters anymore. Probably because it'd be granddaughters nearly for most. I think I was probably the last. But there's three reasons the rich girls got out. Their dads found out that the others were using them - not me, my dad practically sold me. Pregnant, although I don't think that's ever happened. Or you get too old to be interesting. Once I hit 18, the thrill was gone and I was free."

"You mean...all of them are underage?"

She kept looking down, eyes glistening. "Not all of them, but it is their specialty. The clients like feeling untouchable. It's not even to do with finding young girls attractive really, it's all about control and destruction. They boat them in, two or three per night. From the city, desperate kids trying to earn a bit for their families usually. Or they don't speak enough English to understand what's going to happen. And the idiots don't even realise that they're not in control. Laufey and the others who own it, they're in control. They have the power to destroy each and every person who ever walks in."

Thor was shaking. Tears finally flowed silently down Lorelei's cheeks. It seemed she was a habitual weeper. He almost wanted to hold her, but daren't. Touch didn't seem the right thing.

"I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to stop this and we will burn that building to the ground. He won't have it. Laufey is not having that land."

"I believe you'll try. I don't believe you'll succeed. You'll get hurt, that's all I'm saying. And if that's all you wanted to know..."

He stood to leave her with her grief, turning just before he opened the door. He didn't know exactly how old Loki was, but he had to ask.

"Do you... Were there ever any boys brought in?"

She sniffed, frowning slightly. "Not to work. Not that I remember."

"OK. Sorry, I just... Sorry. I'm so sorry."

It took a long time for him to feel ready to drive.

He was almost certainly the product of the brothel. Someone had taken Angie there and...

Odin probably knew.

Thor just prayed he'd never been involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor learns that the brothel specialises in underage sex, including the exploitation of potentially trafficked girls, and finds out that Lorelei was abused there.
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter is significantly longer than others around it because I combined a couple that made more sense as one than apart. But it works out as I had in fact miscounted, so we're still heading for 60.


	23. Chapter 23

He had a message from Sif. Apparently Jotunheim were coming the next day. The very next day, Laufey himself.

He was out of time.

No more stalling.

Thor went home, his heart aching, unsure what to do. He wanted to call Odin, to confront him about it. But he couldn't quite bring himself to level that accusation at the man who had raised him.

His eyes fell on the birthday card and he reached for his phone.

A small voice answered the call.

"Hey," he said, forcing himself to sound cheerful. "Isn't it past your bedtime? Can you get your mom for me? It's Uncle Thor."

He heard the yelling of a child summoning a parent and the clunking of a phone being picked up.

"Hi, Thor."

"Hi. Um... Thanks for the card. Are you free to talk about something?"

She sounded hesitant to say the least, and worried by his tone, but agreed that she was.

"I'm meant to be selling a lodge and a load of wetlands up north. And I... I know, Ang. I know all about it. And I'm not going to let Laufey have it. No way. If I possibly can, I swear, I'm going to stop this."

She was silent for a while before taking a shuddering breath.

"OK. Good. I hope you manage it. Girls, could you go in the other room, please? Just while I'm on the phone."

Thor screwed up his eyes, not wanting to ask but knowing he had to...

"I'm really sorry to ask this but... Was Dad... Did he know?"

"No, not until afterwards. I only went once. I was taken up there after a garden party. They asked if I wanted to go on the yacht and I said sure. They must have put something in my drink, and after..."

"And after, me."

"Yeah. And Dad was so angry. Not with me, but with them. I don't know who your father is. It's all a blur. There were so many. When I said that I didn't know, I wasn't trying to protect anyone, and it wasn't because I was scared, I literally meant that I don't remember who was there or who...did things to me. But Laufey threatened to ruin Asgard when Dad challenged him about it. And I... I felt like it was my fault, that if I'd been more careful and not gone off with them it wouldn't have happened and I told him not to do anything. And so we hid you. We didn't tell anyone, not even Laufey knew I was pregnant. He thought I'd just told half a year later. So we said you were Mom and Dad's. And I never wanted you to know the truth, I told them not to tell you."

"They didn't. I found out on my own. They don't know I know yet. And it... It wasn't your fault."

It seemed such a useless thing to say, but he had to.

"I know. It took me a long time, but I know. And what happened to me doesn't define me. Doesn't define you either. Just got to keep going."

Thor tried to keep hold of himself.

"Well, poetic justice that I destroy the lodge, huh?" he said. "Almost mythological. I can help bring them down."

"Yeah. Here's hoping."

She paused for a long time before speaking again. "Thanks for letting me know. I love you."

"I love you too, Ang."

His father wasn't involved. That was something. At least that was something.

Tomorrow he would face Laufey. And he had to act as though everything was normal. How hard could that be?

As it turned out, virtually impossible.


	24. Chapter 24

Trying to remain calm was more difficult than it seemed. Thor was tempted to call his father down to help him. 

But Odin had turned his back before. He wasn't even going to get the chance today.

"What's your excuse?" Sif asked as the appointment approached. He hadn't told her of his discovery yet, treating it as need-to-know only. He didn't want to put her in danger. "You need one, or he'll accuse you of preventing free trade or something."

"Environmental concerns. I'm looking into the risks posed to indigenous bird populations by leisure fishing and boating."

"Did you just make that up this second?"

"Yes. My excuse doesn't matter. He's here to see what I know and if I can be bought off. I'm the dumb one? I'll be the dumbest mark he's ever met."

The buzzer on Sif's desk rang and she answered it in her usual polite fashion. Laufey was here, his eldest son Lopt in tow.

"He brought his kid?" Sif said when she'd confirmed with reception that they were expected.

"Probably expects Odin to be here and wants equal terms. Lopt could be about the same age as me. I'm really not sure how old his sons are."

He sat down at his desk, trying to look stately and in control as Sif hurriedly rolled a second chair into place opposite him, giving him a thumbs up as she retreated to her booth.

Thor heard a pair of footsteps approaching, saw the shadows looming behind the frosted glass of his office doors, took a deep breath as the handle moved...

And saw Loki walk into the room.

He looked different. He'd cut his hair, not short, but shorter and his usual strut had been replaced by something less showy.

Laufey strode in behind him, overtaking on the way to Thor's desk, and held out his hand.

Thor shook it, mumbling greetings. He felt sure that if Loki touched him, he'd be burned or a spark would flash between them.

Loki didn't meet his gaze.

At least he didn't have to act dumb. The mere presence of Loki was sending his mind into overdrive.

He was _Laufey's son._ What was it he'd said? He'd started being a sugar baby to annoy his father.

Well, he'd gone back on that one.

Laufey seemed deeply unimpressed by his vague environmental concerns. Thor took that as a good sign. Unimpressive could translate easily to unthreatening. And if Loki was trying to get back into his father's good graces by throwing Thor to the dogs, he had another thing coming.

He smiled politely at Laufey as he headed off, lies and half-truths about nature surveys his only result.

Loki looked back at him from the doorway, his eyes filled with...what, sorrow? Regret?

Thor wasn't sure.

"He's got some fucking nerve," Sif said.

"Laufey?"

"No. Laufey Junior used to work for us. He said he had to leave for personal reasons. I forged your name on his release form. Laufey must have sent him to spy on us."

Thor stared at her.

"How long did he work here?"

"Oh, ages. Years, I think. Working his way up in data entry. He was pretty close to making team leader. God, the things he had access to! It must add up to corporate espionage. You could probably sue if his legal team weren't so skilled."

Years. For years, Loki - Lopt - had been working under his nose. And he'd never noticed. He'd been just another appraisal, another name...

Name.

"What name did he use? Surely we'd have noticed a Lopt Laufeyson around."

"I think it was Lopt Farbautison on forms. We should have picked up on that. We really should."

He agreed vaguely with her.

There was no way Loki hadn't known exactly who he was from the very beginning. Right from the start, he knew.

And if he was Laufey's kid, he now knew far more than Thor was comfortable with him knowing.

He needed help. Heavy, serious help. And he didn't even have a real plan.

Most of the rest of the day was spent trying to get hold of Hela. Somehow he thought she might be able to assist him. Or want to anyway. There was certainly no love lost between her and Laufey.

It was a fruitless errand and he left work frustrated and upset.

Not quite as upset as he was to find his door already unlocked when he got home though.


	25. Chapter 25

Thor eased his door open, trying to be silent, gratified by seeing Loki jump when he spoke.

"What are you doing here, Lopt?"

The look on Loki's face as he turned to look at Thor was something close to betrayal. The nerve of it...

"Please, don't call me that."

"Why not? It's your name, isn't it? It's what's written on your passport and bills. And pay slips."

"Oh, so you finally figured that one out? I'm impressed. Seriously. I didn't think it would be possible to be that oblivious for so long, but you finally got there."

Thor shrugged off his coat, dumping it behind him.

"You knew who I was. From the very first second, you knew."

"You were my boss. Of course I knew. But you didn't. I was nothing to you, you'd never even noticed me. And it was fun, hiding from you, taking the long way to work so you wouldn't see me arriving. I liked it. And I liked you telling me things, so many little details that you thought meant nothing and would just disappear out of my pretty head."

Thor decided he needed to sit down, moving round to take the armchair. Loki's eyes followed him, narrowing.

"You know what the lodge is for," he said, not even a question.

"I said I'd been there before, didn't I? They took me up on my 18th birthday. It was my present, to go up there and prove myself a man by fucking some nameless girl."

Thor nodded vaguely. He couldn't even be shocked. "I'm not letting your father buy it. I don't know how, but I'm shutting it down. It's not right."

Loki looked at him strangely before throwing his head back, laughing hysterically.

"You fucking hypocrite," he spat. "You think you're better than them? You've done exactly the same thing."

Thor shifted back. "No, it's not the same... I wasn't... I didn't..."

"You paid for sex. It's still illegal. It's still prostitution. Did you think I _liked_ it? That I enjoyed having rich idiots drool on me and touch me and make me dance for them? I did what I did because I needed the money. And now I've found a way out, a way to go back home, and I've taken it. I've heard who's handling the sale of the land my father wants so very much. I know who we have to keep an eye on."

"So, what? After I'm dealt with, you're just going to let your father keep taking girls to the lodge? You're going to stand back and let it keep happening?"

Loki sniffed. "It's them or me. This is your warning, Thor. I will destroy you if you try to take me on."

Thor shook his head desperately as Loki stood to leave.

"You don't mean that. You wouldn't," he said, darting to block the door.

"Oh, and you know me, do you? I gave you what you wanted. You never saw the real me. You were a good fuck, I'll give you that. But that's all it was. Now get out of my way."

Thor sat down heavily, using his weight to keep the door closed.

"Thor, please. I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not leaving until you at least admit that I meant something to you."

He wasn't sure where that came from. It came out without him meaning it to.

Loki's jaw dropped. "Oh, Thor. You didn't fall for me, did you? You thought I really cared about you. Poor baby."

He approached, petting Thor's hair. For a second Thor almost automatically relaxed into it before he felt fingers tightening and starting to pull.

"I only cared about your money."

Thor howled as his hair was yanked, reaching forward blindly and managing to unbalance Loki, sending him toppling onto the floor, taking several strands of Thor's hair with him.

Determined not to lose his little advantage, Thor threw himself on top, pinning Loki's wrists with his hands and straddling him.

Loki struggled for a moment before laughing, his head thumping back against Thor's polished tiles.

"Well, this is a familiar position," he said, arching up lazily.

Thor half growled at him, unwilling to play games.

"He's not having the lodge. And you're going to help me stop him."

"I am, am I? Why's that?"

"You hated your father enough to change your name, run away, sleep with his colleagues and work for his rival. You might not care about me, but you definitely hate him. I want to take him down and you can help me."

Loki seemed doubtful, rolling his eyes. "I'll humour you. How?"

"You're on the inside. We'll find a way, I swear. Please, just help me. I don't want anything else from you, just say you will and we'll figure it out together."

He'd let his hands grow slack, thinking he'd managed it.

He really should have anticipated Loki suddenly jerking from his grasp and flipping them.


	26. Chapter 26

Loki forced Thor's wrists to the floor, using all his weight to hold him there.

"If we're doing this, we're doing it on my terms."

Thor considered struggling but nodded instead. If Loki wanted control, fine. As long as he helped.

"Tell me what you know so far."

Thor started talking. Part of him worried that Loki was here on a fact-finding mission. As such, he decided to keep his sources secret as he listed off everything. The underage girls, the police involvement, the possible trafficking, the accounting problems. There had to be something, some way that they could fight him.

"So the police can't help," Loki said. "And your other clues are vague gaps in the books from several years ago and some rumours about foreign girls."

He sat up, still straddling Thor, looking lost and helpless.

"It's not enough," he said. "We need more evidence, we need help."

"I'm getting help," Thor said, staying put. "I'm trying. I really am. I will stop this."

Loki was quiet for a while and then he whispered, "This is what happened to Angela, isn't it?"

Thor nodded. "I'm not letting it happen to anyone else."

Loki seemed to take note of where he was sitting and moved off Thor to sit on the floor next to him.

"I didn't want to, you know," he said softly. "They told me it was going to be a surprise. Well, it was that, I suppose. But that wasn't how I wanted my first time to be. But... I couldn't not, not with them all there, and I think I cried afterwards. I don't remember. I found the booze and went to town on it. Just...her face. The way she looked at me, so resigned to what was happening, barely a person in there any more. Like a corpse, like a ghost. She still haunts my dreams even after all these years. Anyway, afterwards, I decided to run, figured I would make it on my own, away from all of that, but I didn't know how. I had nothing, no qualifications, no experience. I asked Angrboda for help. She'd always been nice to me. And she... Well, I won't say she used me, it was just an exchange, but she said she would give me money and help me find somewhere to live if I..."

He sighed heavily before continuing. "If I would wear my father's clothes and sleep with her. I knew she was in love with him. And I desperately wanted out, so I did it, did it for months, and then I thought, well, if she's willing to pay for sex with me then why not others? So I started offering myself to various business associates. The ones who secretly hated my father were easiest. They couldn't fuck him up the ass but for a small fee they could have the next best thing. And then I started to learn, to learn what people want and get good at it, and I started moving into other circles, put my fees up and I... I turned myself into Loki. Because Loki is not scared and Loki never cries and Loki can take it, take it all, baby, yeah, that's right... Well, taking all the shit gets old pretty soon. And I tried to get out, I got a real job, but minimum wage doesn't get you far. And maybe one day I'd have made manager in Asgard and I'd have made enough money to give it up while still paying my bills and I could have stopped and been happy, but... I saw an easier way out. I'm the prodigal son. 'Welcome back, Lopt. We knew you'd see sense.' I'm too tired to do it anymore."

Thor rolled onto his stomach to look up at him.

"You don't have to choose between one or the other, your father and...and that. There has to be another way," he said. "Help me. Please."

Loki waved his hands desperately. "It'll just start up again somewhere else."

"But not here. The evils of the world shouldn't stop us from trying. And I'm... I'm so sorry that I was a part of your suffering. Truly. And you're right, I am a hypocrite but I want to be better. I am trying and learning to be better. Please help me."

He met a gaze that he couldn't quite decipher.

"Sit up, Thor. Did you cancel your payment?"

Thor scrabbled to his knees. "No. There was a lot going on. I didn't get round to that yet."

"Please cancel it. Right now. I don't want your money anymore."

A few taps on his phone and it was done. He held it out for inspection.

"See? Cancelled."

Loki - Lopt? - took it from him to check and then looked up at him, face open for the first time since Thor had walked in.

"Well, now I can do this."

Thor yelped in surprise as in a flash Loki was in his lap and kissing him hard. His hands flew up automatically to wrap around him, holding close.

"I do care," Loki whispered between kisses. "I do, I care about you. I didn't want you to be hurt..."

Thor moaned softly, letting himself slip further and further, Loki's legs wrapping around him.

Loki's or...?

"What should I call you?" he asked, abruptly pulling back. "What do you want to be called?"

"You call me Loki. Dad made Lopt, but I made Loki. So I can change him too. And I want to help you."

Thor smiled against his lips as he lunged forward to capture him again.


	27. Chapter 27

He should have been more careful. He didn't know for sure that he could trust Loki. And though he wanted to believe that this was real, it was getting harder and harder to know. 

But he couldn't resist getting all tangled up, trying to touch everywhere at once and neither of them willing to let their lips separate for more than a second.

They must have gone on for some time before the floor started to be rather uncomfortable and Thor successfully managed to move proceedings to the couch.

"I can't stay the night," Loki said. "I want to, but I can't."

"Alright. How can I contact you? Your old phone doesn't work."

Loki gave him his new number, programming him in to his phone as Donald. Just in case, he said. In case one of his brothers went snooping. They weren't too pleased to have him back in the running for inheritance. They'd love an excuse to send him packing.

"Don't text me. And if someone answers who isn't me, don't get angry if they're aggressive, just... Just say you'll call back."

He seemed very nervous and Thor pressed a soft kiss to his forehead to try to calm him down.

"I'm going to call some people and get them to help and then I will let you know the plan. I'm sorry that you can't be more involved, but..."

"I'll be distracting my father. That's involvement enough."

He paused in the doorway.

"I partly came to return the spare key you gave me, but... Can I keep it? In case I need a place to run?"

For just a second Thor questioned the wisdom of giving a possible double agent, who had lied to him for their entire relationship, the key to his home. But he nodded. If his trust was misplaced, it was on him.

Loki left and Thor had to take a moment.

OK. Loki was in his corner. Probably. A man on the inside. Tomorrow he would try again to get hold of Hela and beg her for help.

And Hela knew about accounting. That's what she did. That was her business.

Maybe if there was some kind of tax issue that they could exploit. Or something.

He jumped when his phone rang.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Thor? Laufey came to see you and you didn't tell me? Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"

Thor sighed. "I'm fine, Dad. How are you?"

"What are you doing?"

"The lodge, Dad. You wanted me to look into it. I have. Did you give it to me assuming that I'd not pursue it, or did you hope I'd keep digging and figure it out?"

He felt guilty by how tired and sad Odin seemed when he replied.

"I don't know. I don't know which I thought would be worse. I left it up to you. If you were who I thought you were, I trusted you to do what was right."

"And what is right? Turning away, like you did? Self-preservation? No. I'm closing it down. I'm stopping it."

He expected a fight, but it didn't come.

"I wasn't sure it was still happening," Odin said quietly. "Or that it was still happening there. I was suspicious, but... The last time I went sniffing around, about a decade ago, I lost someone close to me."

Thor's heart dropped. "Uncle Vili. The car accident."

"Not so accidental. No matter what the report says. I'm sure I would have noticed if the brake fluid was leaking over weeks. It was all very convenient for Laufey anyway. Enough to scare me off. I was scared, for you, your brother... But I thought you would be safer in this case, we'd hidden it from you. You weren't... You were innocent. Just be careful, Thor. Please. I could never forgive myself if you got hurt."

Thor tried his best to sound reassuring. "Don't worry. I have people helping me. I won't tell you who. I want you and Balder and Mom to walk away from this if it goes wrong. But it won't. I'll be fine."

Odin didn't believe him.

He didn't know if he believed himself.


	28. Chapter 28

"How much can I trust you, Sif?" 

She looked at him warily. 

"We've worked together for nearly a decade, so I would say a lot. I'd like to think that you do trust me a lot."

He sighed. "I'm going after Laufey. And it might get difficult. So I wanted to give you an out. If you want, you can just not be involved. But I have to do this."

"What have you found out?"

He told her about the lodge. The girls. The underhand selling. How Laufey was now seeking full control of the operation. Not about Angela or Loki, but enough that she could understand.

She stood blinking at him afterwards.

"And you're... You're sure?"

"I've spoken to victims. I'm certain."

Sif flopped into one of the office chairs, staring at nothing, eyes glassy.

"We'll get them," she said quietly. "We have to. If we manage to protect even one child, it will be worth it. Who should I call?"

Thor hugged her head.

"The wetlands association. I want the most detailed, long-winded, time-consuming nature survey they can do. I need time and interference. That should provide both. I have someone on the inside at Jotunheim too, so we do have help. We can do this, I'm sure of it."

He called Lorelei, struck with the idea of tracing the money. Surely if he could find the bank reference, he could prove that Laufey was renting the lodge. Lorelei said she didn't know, that all of that would have gone through her father's solo account, not the one he shared with her mother.

But that was a good thing. It meant she could deny all knowledge if the time came.

Lorelei promised to call him back.

Getting hold of Hela was as troublesome as always and Thor found himself overthinking everything as he waited on hold.

If they managed to find references, what did that prove? That Laufey rented land from Lorelei's father. He might have used the lodge for all manner of innocent activities.

But if he'd used company funds... Well, that would be different. If the money coming from the brothel and paying out of it passed through Jotunheim accounts, that was money laundering. Would Laufey be stupid enough to do that? Maybe. Maybe not.

He managed to get a promise of a return call from Hela's assistant before calling Lorelei again.

"Give me time, Odinson. I'm not a miracle worker."

"No, I know. I just wondered if you knew who handled the money. Who dealt with all the brothel money?"

She paused. "There was an accountant. Someone outside Jotunheim, I think."

Thor's blood ran cold. "Not Hela?"

For a moment he panicked. She might have lied to him. She might still work for Laufey, one step away. If she did, she'd already have warned him that something was up. And Loki would be in on it too, what if he _was_ a double agent, sent to lure him into a false sense of security while Laufey planned his demise?

"No, definitely not. I know Hela," Lorelei said. "Or I know of her, I suppose. No, it was a man. Soutre or Sartre or something like that. With an S. I never really took much of an interest, for obvious reasons."

He thanked her anyway. At least it was something. An accountant, outside of Jotunheim, name with an S. How many of them could there be?

He drummed his fingers helplessly against the desk.


	29. Chapter 29

Hela didn't get back to him for another two days. And when she did, she sounded distinctly pissed off about it.

"I'm trying to find the money trail," Thor said. "And an accountant with a name starting with S, possibly a Soutre or Sartre."

"Really? That's what you have to go on? That's what you're bothering me with?"

"Will it be of any use?"

"Maybe. You need evidence of money laundering or some other crime. Which means you need access to the accounts. Not Jotunheim's but the ones run by this S fellow. Now, that's really rather illegal without consent of the account holder or a warrant for their seizure, so much as I'd like to help you track them down, obviously I can't."

Thor pinched the bridge of his nose.

"But," Hela continued, as though hearing his expression. "Were you to bring me some books to take a look at, I could. In confidence."

Alright. So now he just had to find a man whose name he didn't know and either bribe or steal from him. Great. That was going to go well.

At least the wetlands association was easier to deal with. The woman was back, beaming at him for taking things so seriously. Yes, all the surveys, birds, bugs, plants, water purity, the whole shebang, please.

By the time she left, giddy with the carte blanche he'd given her to study everything on his personal money - not that she knew that it wasn't company funds - Sif was looking at him with some concern.

"Someone called Loki is on the buzzer, here to see you," she said. "Pretty insistent."

Thor couldn't hide how flustered he felt. The last few times he'd called, Loki had answered with the words "Hi, Don," which Thor took to mean he wasn't safe to talk.

They really were keeping him on a short leash.

"OK, yeah, send him in," he said, already heading to open the door.

Loki half ran up the stairs.

"I've only got five minutes," he said by way of explanation before catapulting himself into Thor's arms, their lips meeting messily.

Thor made protesting sounds even as he kissed back and let himself be pushed backwards into the room.

Sif was looking at them with raised eyebrows when he finally managed to break away.

"Er... This is Sif, my assistant, and this is Loki, my... Um..."

"Yeah, your 'um'," Sif said. "Don't worry, I get the picture."

She was regarding Loki with faint mistrust. To be fair to her, the son of the enemy and a proven liar did justify that response.

"I haven't got long," Loki repeated. "Just long enough to ask you to dinner and how the thing is going."

"Erm... Yeah, sure. Where and when?"

Loki grinned, wrapping his arms back around Thor's waist. "Friday. At my place."

Thor happily accepted the scrap of paper with the address scrawled upon it. He felt special. Loki's place. No one got to go there. No one even got to know where there was.

"So, the thing?" Loki asked, seeming a little anxious.

"Well, we're making progress, trying to follow the money. But we need some books from an outside source. An accountant called Soutre or Sartre."

"Surtur? I know him. He'll never give you anything. Not in a million years."

Thor stared at him. "You know him? Could you get to him, get us... A copy or something? I know it's illegal, but I'm desperate."

Loki seemed positively worried now. "I could probably steal from him. But to do it, I'd have to...distract him. And I'm not sure you'd like that."

Well, it was pretty obvious what Loki meant by that.

"I don't want to ask you to do anything you don't want to," Thor said carefully.

"Well, I don't _want_ to, but I will. For the cause. We need it."

He sighed and got out his phone, performing a strange little shake as he did so. Getting into character.

Thor only heard one half of the conversation as Loki's voice dropped to a breathy purr.

"Hi, Daddy. It's me. I miss you. Uh-huh... Yeah, I know what I said, but it's been so hard for me... Yeah. Yeah, I want to see you, one last time... Oh, he doesn't have to know. It can be our filthy little secret... He won't find out. Not unless you tell him... Please. Please, you know I need it. Need you..."

He let out a contented sigh. "Oh, thank you, Daddy. When? OK. I'll be there. Bye."

He hung up, rolling his shoulders.

"Right, Friday with you, Saturday with him. Just like old times."

"I'm sorry," Thor said. "This is the last time."

"It's not your fault. I'll be fine. He was one of my firsts. We've been on and off pretty much since the beginning. It's why I know his number by heart," He glanced at Sif, slightly embarrassed. "Anyway, Friday. Seven. I'll cook."

"Sounds great."

They kissed again, markedly more clingy, before Loki headed off.

Sif's eyebrows were in danger of becoming part of her hairline.

"Don't say a word," Thor warned, flopping down in his chair.

"No, I wasn't. You date that former employee slash ex-sugar baby slash son of a man you're trying to send to prison."

Thor looked at her helplessly.

"I know. I must be losing it."

Sif shrugged. "Relationships can do that to you. Just a fact of life. But he seems to have it bad for you too."

"Does that make it better?"

"You tell me, 'Daddy'."

She laughed good-naturedly as his head thumped overdramatically onto his desk.


	30. Chapter 30

Dinner with Loki.

It shouldn't have freaked him out. He'd had dinner with Loki before, lots of times.

But this was different. The rules had changed. They used to be worker and client, happy enough but factually a transaction and now they were two people with a checkered past trying to start a relationship in a world of trouble, expecting everything and expecting nothing and...

And Thor was scared.

He must have changed at least three times before settling on the red blazer he'd worn to their first date.

This seemed to be a good decision if Loki's smile when he opened the door was anything to go by.

"I figured if we were starting again, I should dress the way I first wanted you to see me," Thor said.

"Trust me, my reaction remains just as favourable."

Loki's place was incredible. Even after a quick scan, Thor knew it was well beyond the salary he could have made in his role in Asgard. Loki definitely picked up on his assessment.

"I couldn't let my family see me poor, even though their idea of poor is nowhere near actually being poor," he said. "So I used my other pay. You're looking at hefty chunks of a few trust funds probably. Sugar subsidies."

But that was over now. Mostly over. And here he was, in the inner sanctum, Loki looking positively nervous as he spooned out casserole and potatoes. It seemed he didn't cook very often. Certainly not for company.

Thor was utterly charmed by the whole affair.

"Can I ask about you now?" he tried. "Now that there's less pressure?"

Of course. Loki was the eldest son of a distant father but doted upon by his mother until his teenage years when suddenly Laufey took an interest in his heir. His two younger brothers resented him. He'd left home at 18, running exclusively on clients until 22 when he'd got a base-level job at Asgard in an attempt to move out of escorting, though the relatively low salary obliged him to keep it up longer than expected. He'd been slowly climbing the ladder for the past four years.

"And that brings me to you. And that brings us here."

Thor smiled at him, brushing their hands together.

"I'm glad you still want to see me," he said. "After everything."

Loki shrugged. "You're different, I guess. You genuinely seemed to care. About what I wanted and who I was as an individual. As a human. I'm glad that you still want to see me, after everything, if I'm honest."

The spectre of Surtur hung over the room like a bad smell. The more he thought about it, the less Thor wanted Loki to sleep with anyone else.

Was that too possessive? Would he jeopardize the whole plan if he mentioned it?

He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times before Loki sighed and drew his hand away.

"You don't want me to sleep with him," he said.

Thor ran his hands down his face. "It's not your fault, I'm... I'm over-reacting. I just don't much like the idea of it."

"Don't like sharing?"

"It's not that. And it is, a little, of course it is, but mainly I just don't like the idea of you being back in that situation when you just got out of it."

Loki leapt to his feet suddenly.

"What if I told you I had another plan?" he asked, rummaging in a drawer in his sideboard. "One that I'd need your help for, but that doesn't involve me having Surtur's dick in any of my orifices."

"I'd say, 'No, Loki, we can't murder him.'"

He got a laugh for that before Loki set a box of sleeping tablets in front of him.

"I go in, I drug whatever he's drinking, he goes down for the count, I let you in and we ransack the place."

Thor stared at the little box. "Is that...safe? I know I was kidding around, but I don't want to accidentally kill someone."

"I'll only give him one. I'll leave a note saying I left afterwards and he'll be none the wiser. He used to pass out after sex all the time. It'll be fine."

Well, it certainly got rid of one of their problems. And if he was there, Thor would feel a lot more secure. He'd feel Loki was a lot safer.

And no one else would get to touch him.

"OK," he said. "Yeah. I'll come with you. Let's do it."

Loki seized his face in both hands to kiss him, stooping a little awkwardly to manage it.

They both jumped when someone knocked at the door.


	31. Chapter 31

Loki hurried him into a cupboard, plate and glass in hand, warning him not to come out whatever he heard.

It would have been funny, like they were in a retro sitcom, if they weren't so scared.

A second, louder knock.

"Who is it?" Loki called.

"Come on, Lopt. Is this any way to treat family?"

He heard the door open and two sets of footsteps following Loki's lighter tread down the hall.

The brothers. It had to be.

"Having dinner?" asked one voice.

"Even I need to eat." That was Loki.

"Lots of wine for just you. I hope you're not picking up on Mom's drinking habits."

"Maybe Mom and I both have reason to drink."

"Sleeping pills too," and this was a second voice, a different one. "You have to be careful. It's dangerous to mix pills and booze."

"And you'd so hate it if anything were to happen to me."

There was a pause before Loki sighed.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Just checking up on our big brother. Is that not allowed?"

"Did Dad send you?"

Another pause. Thor could just imagine the shuffling feet. This was their own initiative, if it could be called that.

"You might have him fooled, but we know better," the second voice said. Probably the youngest, still rash and not cautious enough.

"Do you really? Please, tell me my master plan, I'm simply fascinated."

A growl from the first, possibly older one. 

"You're here to steal Jotunheim from under our noses. You threw it all away and we all know what you did to pay your way. Cocksucking whore."

It was genuinely difficult for Thor to remain where he was. He wanted to be out there, to stand with Loki, even the field a little. But he stayed put. Loki had told him to stay put.

And Loki was laughing.

"And yet Dad still thinks I'm a better match for the company than either of you two. Does it break your little hearts? No matter what, I can still walk back through that door and take it all. You know why? You want to know the secret? I proved that I can survive by myself. That I can manipulate, lie, cheat, steal, and people will still come crawling back to me."

The atmosphere was thick with resentment. They knew Loki would take it from them. They just didn't understand exactly how.

"They don't respect you," the second voice said uncertainly.

"Respect?" Loki laughed. "What would I do with respect? I lead them around by their cocks. They sell out their children for just the chance of a night with me. And I know all their secrets. I could destroy them on a whim, destroy their marriages, their businesses... Keep your respect. I don't need it from them, you, not even Dad."

"He'll throw you out," the first voice said. "He'll send you back to them. You'll be on your knees again before you know it."

Loki fake gasped. "Oh, watch me shudder. They worshipped me. I'd recommend it, but I doubt you'd have much interest."

There was a clatter. A yelp. Thor tensed, poised to spring out, damn the consequences.

"Wait," Loki said, and Thor waited, sure that he was being spoken to. "Dad won't be happy if I'm nursing a shiner on Monday."

Thor could barely breathe as he heard vague grumbling and shuffling feet, followed by the slam of the door.

Loki was trembling when he opened the cupboard.

Thor pulled him into an embrace, noting the broken plate behind him. 

"Are you OK?"

Loki's voice was slightly snuffly. "I'm fine. They're jealous. Dad doesn't trust them and they think he trusts me but... They're just like him, without any of the sense. I'm fine, really."

Thor cleaned up for him, letting him flop on the couch for a moment, letting out the strain of the pretense.

"Thor?"

"Yeah?"

"Hold me?"

He couldn't have said no to that plea, even if he'd wanted to.


	32. Chapter 32

Thor was happy just to rest with Loki lying on his chest, breathing steadily.

But when Loki looked at him quizzically and began shuffling upwards to nudge their noses together and claim a kiss, he wasn't going to resist.

He ended up with his legs wrapped around Loki's waist, feeling him move and writhe against him.

"We should go to bed," Loki said thoughtfully, not making any effort to get up.

It would be another 15 minutes before they made it.

And it felt right somehow to resume exactly where they'd left off, without clothes now, just clawing ever closer to one another, like they were trying to become one being.

"What do you want?" Thor asked.

"You."

He chuckled. "Yes, I know, but anything in particular?"

Loki stared at him for moment and Thor was struck by the idea that Loki had never been asked that question in earnest before. He might have been asked, but he'd always given the answer he knew was wanted.

Faced with making his own decision, exclusively for his own pleasure, seemed to overwhelm him just a little.

"I want... I want to... Can I have you?"

Thor managed not to laugh at his wording. So innocent, in its way.

He leant up to be kissed instead.

"Of course," he whispered. "Of course you can."

They'd done this before, but not quite this way. It had been a distraction for Thor. This was simultaneously a more heated and intense affair.

It passed Thor's mind that he should ask Loki at some point for tips on how to prepare someone else, because he was very good at it, but now was not the time.

He squirmed on Loki's fingers, receiving kisses all along his body wherever his flesh could be reached, wishing both for something more and for this to never end.

"Shit," Loki said suddenly. "I left my condom supply in the suitcase I took north. It's still at your place."

"Your whole supply?"

"I didn't want us to run out... And I haven't needed any since."

Thor tried to think through the haze of lust clouding his mind.

"Well, you must have got tested recently. When was your last check up?"

"Just before I met you. No issues. You?"

Thor blushed a little. "It's been three years since I broke up with my last girlfriend, and then there's only been you."

Loki's eyes widened. "I'm surprised."

"A lot of people have dry spells, it's normal."

"No, I'm surprised that your last relationship was with a woman."

"Oh. Well. We can talk about that later. What I was trying to convey was that I'm clean, you're clean, we're now in a committed relationship. Maybe we can start going without protection from time to time."

He wasn't expecting Loki to pull away.

"Who said we're in a committed relationship?"

Thor sat up in a panic.

"Are we not? I thought we were. I was entirely under the impression that was the case."

The relief hit him like a truck when Loki laughed.

"You are adorable when you're scared," he said, moving back between Thor's legs. "I should do it more often."

"Shut up and fuck me."

He hadn't been paying a lot of attention the last time, wallowing in regret and sorrows that weren't really his, but this time he was able to appreciate everything.

The way Loki sought out his prostate early but then practically ignored it, making things last for as long as possible, choosing to hit it randomly just to hear Thor cry out.

And when he decided Thor was ready, the rush was indescribable. Thor was left gasping, his body bucking out of his control, trying desperately to get more, harder, please, his moans being cut off by Loki's lips as he frantically jerked himself off between their stomachs.

He was barely aware of Loki climaxing until afterwards when he realised he was leaking. It thrilled him in an odd way. He felt claimed. Welcomed. Wanted.

It was difficult to convince himself to get up and clean, but he knew that he'd be grateful for it in the morning.

Part of him wanted to carry around the evidence, the mark of Loki, for the rest of his life.


	33. Chapter 33

They lazed the morning away, all sleepy caresses and half-finished conversations.

"You find girls attractive then."

"Yeah. Why, don't you?"

"I like girls as friends, and objectively, but... Not that way, no."

"But...Angrboda. Your female clients."

"Mm. I've _slept_ with women. They tended to be a bit of a reprieve. Not all of them, I had a few "mistresses" who made sure I knew I wasn't fit to lick their stilettos, but generally it was less of the rough, frustrated sex of not-quite CEOs, more telling underappreciated wives of not-quite CEOs that they were beautiful and making sure they actually came during sex for once. I remember this one woman, her husband had left her for someone 15 years younger and she just wanted a little care. The way she reacted, I don't think she'd ever orgasmed before. Probably didn't know she could feel like that, thought she was climaxing when she was just getting close. I'm pretty sure she thought I was magic, to be able to do that, make her feel something no-one else ever had. Taught her a few hand techniques that she could do herself, showed her she didn't have to rely on anyone else to get her off, and hopefully made a sad lady very happy. Or at least more satisfied. But yeah. S'just work. If I only slept with people I find attractive, I'd be out on the streets by now."

"I guess that makes sense. I am. Attracted to women. Is that...bad? I'm attracted to men too. Obviously."

"Evidently. And no, it's not bad, I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. I don't know why, I just...wasn't."

Eventually, after dragging themselves to late lunch, Loki announced that he really ought to get ready. Four hours early.

Which meant Thor was left alone while he showered.

Nice as Loki's place was, it was also vaguely sterile, as though he'd just moved in. Or was ready to move out.

He had a few pictures, mainly far away landscapes, one photo of a much younger Loki with a woman who had to be his mother. A few ornaments. Books on travel and music. Nothing that really built up an image of him as a person.

Maybe he'd been pretending too long.

But then he stumbled on the DVDs. A whole cupboard of them, all different genres, action, romance, horror, classics, thrillers, comedies, world cinema that Thor had never even heard of. That probably said more about Loki's interests than the rest of the apartment put together.

And Loki didn't seem too annoyed when he caught Thor blatantly going through his stuff.

"Come help me pick an outfit," he said from the doorway, wrapped in a towel.

This was evidently where the bulk of Loki's money went. There were several full suits, most of them tailored, more casual wear, row upon row of scarves, less expensive work clothes and...

"Wow," Thor said, looking at the final rail.

"Later," Loki said, slapping his hand away from a royal blue corset. "I know you like the special interest, but this isn't for you."

Even once an outfit was chosen - waistcoat, no jacket - it wasn't time to put it on. Loki fixed his hair for hours, teasing the ends into soft curls, before methodically lotioning every inch of skin.

"I didn't realise it took so long," Thor said, watching Loki's hands with ill-disguised interest.

"Well, my body is my merchandise. Was my merchandise. I had to look after it. Had to be all soft and smooth but act like it's effortless. Takes more time than you'd think. And I'm not even doing my more...intimate preparations."

"Do I want to ask?"

"I'd rather you didn't."

"OK."

"It's just gross that's all."

Thor crossed the room to lay his hands comfortingly on Loki's still-slick shoulders, trying to calm his nerves a little.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. You don't have to talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable, especially about...before. You can always tell me if a question or a subject is off-limits, it's alright."

He felt Loki relax slightly, leaning into his touch before getting up to get dressed.

They laid out the plan. Thor would drive, drop Loki at the door, go around the block a few times, park and approach. By around 20 minutes, Surtur should be in bed and snoring and Thor could come in to help.

"We won't be able to take anything electronic," Loki said, slipping on his shirt. "It'll all be password protected. But the old stuff, the paper records? Kept in his office. Filing cabinets. We'll take a sample, not so much that he'll notice. I'll write a note saying I had the night of my life, and we get out. He won't suspect a thing."

It seemed so simple.

So of course, it was anything but.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er... Questionable morality warning?

Driving wasn't a problem. Even dropping Loki off outside the sprawling, tasteless, single-floored house was OK, seeing him let in by someone else.

Thor drove in circles for a while as instructed before pulling up to wait outside.

Loki appeared at the door far later than planned, wild-eyed and panicked.

"He wouldn't go to bed," he said. "Help me. We have to move him."

Surtur was huge. He had the wasted muscles of someone who had been thoroughly imposing in his youth but was now losing the battle to gravity and cholesterol. He was passed out on the couch.

"Can't we just leave him?" Thor tried.

"No. He's very particular. Always the bed. If he's going to be convinced that he passed out after the main event, he has to be on the bed."

It took them several minutes, half-dragging him some of the time. Eventually, with much straining and effort, they managed to lift him onto the mattress.

"How on Earth were you able to support his weight?"

"He favours only one position," Loki said casually as he began stripping Surtur's body with practised motions, carefully folding the clothes. "Me on all fours, him behind. It actually wasn't too bad. And I didn't need to look at him during. He didn't like eye contact. It wasn't me he really wanted, you see, it was the idea of me."

"The idea of you?"

"Let's just say I call him Daddy for very different reasons to why I call you Daddy. He used it to try to humiliate me, so I made it my own. Took it back from him."

Thor watched in horrified fascination as Loki rummaged in a drawer for a condom and lube.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I need evidence. If you didn't remember having sex with someone, what would convince you that you did? The used condom. I'll just jerk him off and leave it in the trash."

"Does it have to be... Does it have to be him? I could do it."

"And leave a handy pocket of your DNA at a crime scene? Great plan, Thor."

"It's... It's not a crime scene," Thor said, trying desperately not to look at where Loki's hands were busily working. "We're in the right."

"Morally, yes. But legally... I'm soliciting, failing to fulfil contract, intoxicating without consent, sexual assault, theft. Theft is you too, trespass, conspiracy to steal, corporate espionage... I was going to do this before I let you in. I knew you wouldn't like it. Fucking come, you dick... Never took you this long normally."

Thor felt his stomach lurch. They were in way over their heads. There was no way they were going to get away with this.

Loki sighed, shaking out hand cramps, once Surtur unconsciously filled the condom. He quickly removed it, tying the end in a knot.

"OK," he said. "I just have to do myself now."

"Why?"

"To create the damp spot. If I begged for it, pleaded down the phone for a free fuck, there better be evidence that I got off."

"But can't you just... Use water or something?"

"No. It has to stain. So either make yourself scarce or help me out, because oddly enough I'm not very aroused right now."

"Help how?" Thor asked as Loki unzipped and positioned himself in the centre of the bed.

"Talk to me or something. Tell me what you'll do to me later. Distract me from Mr Zombie over here."

This was crazy. This was completely crazy. If Odin ever found out, he'd be completely fucked. This was going beyond now. 

"Um..." he tried. "I don't know. I guess when we get out of here, I'm going to be so wired I'll need to go for days just to calm down. Get out all the stress, the fear."

"Didn't have you pinned as hot for danger," Loki said, voice straining.

"Why else would I date someone who could probably kill me in my sleep and make it look like an accident?"

Loki laughed, his hand moving rapidly, barely giving himself time to focus and breathe before gasping out a forced climax.

"OK," he said, shuffling carefully back off the bed. "I'll clean him up and write the note. Office is down the corridor, third door on the left."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I explained this chapter to my sometimes-beta reader, (and actually had to say the words "Loki drugs a man and then jerks both said man and himself off to maintain the illusion of sex taking place") she questioned whether unconscious orgasms are possible.
> 
> After I finished staring at the wall because how is this my life now, I decided that since wet dreams are a thing, that they must be.


	35. Chapter 35

Thor found himself in what seemed to be simultaneously a cutting-edge office and part of the '70s.

He by-passed the computers and hit the filing cabinet. Surtur was a suspicious man. He kept hold of everything, in case he needed it, and kept his evidence in neat, alphabetical order.

Er... J for Jotunheim.

Nothing.

L for Laufey.

Nothing.

...B for Brothel?

Fuck.

"Loki?"

"What?" A yell from the bathroom.

"I can't find anything. It must be under something unexpected."

"Have you tried Y for Ymirson? Ymir was my grandfather. If he was the founder, Dad might have actually used his patronym for once."

Y was locked. That was probably a good sign.

He was looking for a key when Loki skidded in.

"Key? Any idea?" 

"Have you tried the desk?"

"Yes. You seem to know what you're doing. Can't you pick the lock with a hairpin or something?"

Loki's look could have curdled milk.

"Do you have a hairpin?" he asked icily.

"No. OK, right, if I were a rich criminal accountant, where would I keep the key to my files?"

Part of him wanted to look for any books marked 'Wealth' or 'Greed' or something. Wherever these things were usually held.

"Hang on," Loki said. "Take out the drawers from one of the other cabinets. We might be able to get a look at how complex the lock is."

Surrounded by files, breaking at least six laws, possibly about to leave empty-handed...

Thor had had better Saturdays.

"Alright," Loki said. "OK, I think... We're going to have to dismantle it. I'll get a screwdriver from the utility room, you put the other things away."

"Wait, _dismantle_ it? How long before Surtur wakes up?"

"That pill should give us between four and six hours. Since he's a big boy, let's say three hours to be safe. It's a few screws, it'll be fine. We'll be long gone by the time he comes round."

"This is crazy," Thor said, picking up F and sliding it back into place.

Even though he was sure they were never going to get away with this, he stood helplessly as Loki removed an entire side panel.

"OK, I can just reach in. Things might get crumpled, but..."

"Do it. Quick."

There were a few false draws. Turns out there were more people with Y as an initial than they thought. But the fourth reach...

"Ymirson. OK. Do you think we need more than one?"

Thor hesitated as Loki reached back in. "No. One file can go missing without being noticed. It's fine. Let's go."

He watched horrified as Loki's face crumpled.

"I'm stuck," he said.

"What?"

"My arm is stuck in the filing cabinet."

Oh, God. Oh, God, they were screwed.

"OK," Thor said pacing. "Well, he must have butter. I'll get it and loosen you up, and we can clean afterwards..."

Loki laughed and effortlessly withdrew.

"Butter? Seriously? Oh, my God. Your face. Right, give me two minutes to rebuild and we'll be gone. Shove the spares in any other drawer."

Thor didn't manage to calm down even when they were outside in his car.

"He's going to notice," he said driving away. "He'll notice and then he'll figure it out."

Loki frowned at him.

"You think he's going to notice one missing file taken from a locked cabinet of archive papers and therefore surmise that his former sugar baby fuck doll drugged him, masturbated in his bed and jerked him off to stage a sex act that never took place, then took apart the cabinet and rebuilt it in order to steal said file with the help of his corporate enemy slash boyfriend?"

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"Relax, Thor. And just hope Hela can work with this."


	36. Chapter 36

Hela's receptionist looked at him doubtfully, tapping one perfect nail against the desk.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Thor tried his most winning smile. "No, but she'll want to see me. Tell her it's to do with the business we discussed on the phone."

She didn't seem convinced even when relaying the message.

It was 40 minutes before he was ushered through a corridor by a small, dark-haired young woman, her heels clacking up several flights of back stairs before they emerged in a service cupboard and she pushed him immediately left into Hela's palatial office.

She had her head out of the window, blowing smoke outside.

"I thought it best to be prudent," she said, stubbing out her cigarette against the building. "Don't want any gossip about you being here, even from my workers. Don't mind Leah or Brunhilde though. They won't tell a soul. Now, what have you got for me?"

Thor laid his briefcase on the desk with a little flourish, retrieving the Ymirson file from the very bottom of it.

Hela raised an eyebrow at him. She put him in mind of a bird of prey, silently waiting to strike.

She pursed her lips as she flicked through the first few pages before stopping and hitting Thor with a long, hard stare.

"I'm not going to ask how you got this," she said. "And you're not going to tell me."

"Well, I can't get any more. Is it useful?"

Her eyes scanned over a few more pages.

"And you're sure this is genuine? You got it from a reputable source?"

"I have no reason to doubt it."

After all, if Loki was working against him... That meant everything with Surtur was staged, it meant he'd lied about everything, the business with Helblindi and Byleister coming to his home too...

No. He was sure. Not even Loki could have orchestrated that much that well. A man like Surtur wouldn't have agreed to such humiliation.

He'd looked the file over in the safety of his own apartment. It dated from the mid '90s, around the time Hela had stopped working for Jotunheim. And he couldn't be certain, but it seemed to be Laufey's private accounts. His personal ones.

"How long can you hang around?" Hela asked. "I can have an associate in to take a proper look this afternoon, if you want to be present."

"Well, I can ask my assistant to deal with anything that shows up," he began, before thinking of Loki. "And with your permission, I'd like to invite an _associate_ of my own. An interested party."

Another of her weighty looks.

"I rather think we're using that word differently, Odinson. But it's your affair. If you'd like, you can invite whoever you want. Let's say two in the afternoon."

He took that to be a dismissal and retraced his steps out of the building.

Sif was not best pleased at being left to cancel consultations all day, but relented when he promised her it was necessary.

Calling Loki was a little more troubling.

"Hi, Don,"

"Hey, Lopt," Thor responded cheerfully in case someone was listening, the unfamiliar syllable weighing on his tongue. "Just wondering if there's any way you're free for lunch today."

There was a long pause.

"Er, yeah, maybe. Same place as last time?"

"Oh! Oh, no, not... Not like that. Erm. At two? I can text you the address."

"No, just tell me. I'll remember it. And I'll tell you if something comes up."

He rattled off the building name and street, hearing Loki's surprise when he said it should be fine.

"Just go in and say you're my associate, if I'm not there," Thor said.

"Fine. Good. See you then."

Thor prayed there was something helpful in the file. A signed confession, maybe. Clearly labelled lists of where the money came from and who signed off on it and where it went next.

Something.

Anything.


	37. Chapter 37

Loki was late, but he hadn't called.

Thor paced a little, sure that he would show, saying as much to the doubtful receptionist.

He wondered if she ever had other expressions.

Finally, Loki came springing in the door and they were once again unceremoniously relegated to the utility stairs.

"They've given me this new assistant, and she won't leave me alone," Loki said, out of breath as they hurried upwards. "She's more of a spy, really. But I've found her weakness. I'll tell you all about it this evening."

"This evening? What's this evening?"

"Oh. I'm coming to see you. Didn't I say?"

"No. But it's fine. I've been missing you."

"Same."

Hela's eyes seemed about to burst from her face when they entered.

"I knew you'd be doing something stupid," she said. "Didn't I tell you he'd be doing something stupid?"

The man sitting next to her nodded sagely.

"She did say you'd be doing something stupid," he said.

Thor shifted uncomfortably. It was like being told off by a particularly strict teacher.

"This is Tyr," Hela said, gesturing vaguely. "He's technically part of the government, but he's agreed to overlook the blatant theft of this file for its contents. Tyr, apparently you see before you the Romeo and Juliet of this state's real estate families. Both alike in dignity..."

That was perhaps a little harsh, Thor thought. Apt, maybe, but still.

They took their seats and he was able to experience one of Hela's looks from the outside as she sized Loki up before sighing.

"Lots of people better off since you left the free market," she said.

Loki stiffened. "Someone been telling stories about me?"

She smiled brightly. "Remember one of your clients going bankrupt? No names, of course. But I dealt with that. Tried to avoid it by cutting unnecessary spending and the multi-thousand dollar monthly 'companionship' bills were the first thing I questioned."

"He seriously listed it as 'companionship' to his accountant? I knew he was too dumb to live."

"Well. He told me he couldn't possibly live without you and showed me the website. I never forget a snot-nosed kid of a former employer...or an account number. I spot patterns. Saw all those single payments coming out all over my patch. My, weren't you busy a few years ago? Busy and highly recommended."

"But you weren't tempted?" Loki asked, folding his hands in his lap mock-demurely.

Hela snorted. "I prefer partners my own age. And that I don't have to declare on my tax form. But I decided if he was determined to let you bleed him dry, I wasn't going to wrestle the needle out of his grasp. We may have both profited there."

Loki shrugged. "I was never unreasonable, but even I demand compensation for a few things. I took some time away from new repeating clients after that. At least on a one-time deal you only have to deal with the kink once."

Thor caught Tyr's desperate expression and decided to change the subject urgently.

"Is the file any use?" he asked loudly.

Tyr leapt on the potential opening.

"There is a lot of income listed here," he said. "And not all of it has been declared. It could be an error, but from what little I've heard, it's more likely that certain tax officials are not checking thoroughly. It's enough that I can ask for a complete investigation."

"On Laufey?"

"On Surtur. If he's facilitating tax fraud, we can take him out of the equation."

Thor looked between the three of them.

"But...but it's Laufey we want."

Tyr sighed and to Thor's surprise, began unscrewing his hand.

"If I get Surtur and prove that he is involved with tax avoidance, I can have all of Laufey's assets seized as evidence by the end of the year," he said, scratching at the stump of his wrist.

Loki gently closed Thor's jaw where it had dropped.

Hela huffed. "He always does this. Tries to freak people out by removing his prosthetic. You're not funny, you know."

Tyr smirked at her.

Maybe their ideas of associates weren't so different after all, Thor thought, watching her composure slip for just a second.

"I don't have until the end of the year," Thor said. "I'm not sure I have until the end of the month."

"I could try to freeze his assets, but there's nothing to stop him asking someone else to act for him. Buy the lodge themselves and give it to him later."

Thor stared at the desk. There was nothing they could do. He felt helpless suddenly.

Loki coughed to his right.

"I could do it," he said. "I could volunteer to buy it. My father wants me in line, he might be persuaded that I'm working for the family. And... And then I'll run. I'll come to you. If the deed is in my name, there'll be nothing he can do if I'm gone."

Thor stared at him.

"He'll kill you," he said.

Loki scoffed. "His own son?" he said, not sounding entirely certain. "Besides, you can protect me."

Thor wasn't so sure about that.

"It will have to be your own money," Hela said. "If Laufey can prove that he lent you funds, he could claim the land as part of his estate. Do you have that kind of money?"

"I've got some savings that I kept in case I ever needed to disappear. And I could... I could sell my apartment. That would probably cover it."

Thor felt the need to put his foot down.

"I can't ask you to do that," he said. "Where would you live?"

Loki shrugged. "Isn't your place big enough?"

"Loki, we've not even been seeing each other for that long. You seriously want to move in?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted the land safe."

"I do, but-"

"Well, there you are, it's most logical solu-"

Hela slammed a hand on the table. 

"Sorry though I am to interrupt," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "I have other things to do today. We're going after Surtur, and by extension Laufey. You two can sort out your living arrangements yourselves."

Loki was strangely quiet on their way out.


	38. Chapter 38

The spare key rattled in the lock.

"Apparently we need to talk," Loki said, without so much as a hello.

"Apparently so."

He sat down in the opposite armchair from Thor and stared at him for a moment.

"I realise I might have surprised you earlier," he said.

"Just a little. I wasn't expecting talk of living together for a while yet. What would we do if it didn't work out?"

"That's defeatist. We lived together for two weeks and it worked out just fine."

Thor laughed in spite of himself.

"We spent two weeks barely leaving a hotel room and fucking like rabbits."

"I'm really not seeing the problem. I understand that it's fast. You might not think so, but I do. But we just don't have the time to think about it. If I'm going to buy the land, I need to do it. And if it doesn't work then... Then I'll go rent somewhere."

Thor waved his hands vaguely. "I just feel guilty that you would give up something you worked so hard for. That you went through so much for."

"I only own that place because I wanted to show off. It's a total posing house. I wanted my family to know I didn't need them. And this might be my one chance to actually take down my father. Please, let me make my own decision."

It was hard to argue with that.

"OK," Thor said. "What do you want to do?"

Loki got up and approached him, sinking to his knees in front of his chair.

"I want to buy the land and I want to come and live with you. My family will disown me, again, anyway when they find out what I've been doing. I might as well go the whole hog and live with my secret boyfriend by the time they do. And I'll feel safer here."

Thor's resolve, which hadn't been particularly strong to begin with, shattered completely.

"OK," he said. "If you're really sure."

Loki climbed into his lap and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Daddy."

Oh, for God's sake.

"Later," Thor said, mainly to Loki but partially to himself. "You were going to tell me about your new assistant."

"Oh, right, yeah..."

Loki shuffled round to lounge across Thor's thighs, legs kicked over the chair arm, and launched into a story all about his new shadow.

"She's nice. Sweet. Pretty. Sexy, if you're into that. And for a few days she watched my every move. I didn't blink without her knowing. But I've learned her weakness now."

Thor pulled him a little closer, anchoring him more firmly.

"What is it?"

"Well, I'm quite good at weaknesses, especially those of the flesh. Turns out she has a hunky boyfriend that she'd love to get dirty with in his lunchbreaks. And guess who coincidentally lives for the success of young love affairs and is willing to pay the occasional hotel bill in exchange for a little privacy? She thinks I'm her gay best friend forever. It's adorable. She's adorable. I almost want to keep her."

"Hmm. Be careful though. If your dad employed her, she might be sharper than she seems."

Loki laughed hollowly. "No, no. He employed her in the hopes that I'd fuck her."

Thor floundered. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It's obvious. It's how he thinks, that the easiest way to get the truth out of someone is sex or violence. Which...I guess is something we have in common, though the former tends to work for me. He wanted to know what I got up to, has her send him regular reports. He was clearly hoping I'd sleep with her and get attached and tell her stuff and then she could report back to him. He seems to have missed the parts where I like men and have continually formed non-emotional sexual relationships. Anyway, she's loyal to me now, willing to leave out anything I ask. And she thinks Donald is simply the sweetest."

"Donald? Wait, me? What does she know about me?"

"Not you. Don. I had to make up a story, since you kept calling. Donald is a guy I'm seeing, but my family don't know I'm gay and mustn't know." 

He looked up at Thor with wide, pleading eyes. "Please don't tell him, Sigyn. I think it could be pretty serious. I think Don likes me a lot. I can trust you, right?"

He slipped round until he was chest-to-back with Thor, straddling his legs and leaning back. Thor wasn't quite sure if he was meant to 'be' Sigyn in this play, assumed not and took the hint to touch, running his hands over Loki's arching torso.

"I certainly like him a lot," Loki sighed as Thor flicked his thumb over a nipple. "He's warm and sweet and generous. He cares about other people. He's so gentle, until I want him not to be. And he's pretty smart, and he has a great laugh, and he has really good taste. And he's strong."

Thor couldn't help grinding upwards, hearing Loki moan, both their bodies starting to undulate slightly.

"Also Don is a surgeon," Loki whispered.

Thor burst out laughing. He nipped a kiss to Loki's neck, getting a delighted squeal of surprise, and wrapped both arms around his waist to stop him wriggling away.

"You little minx," he growled as Loki giggled and writhed. "Am I not enough for you anymore?"

"I don't know, Daddy. Maybe you should remind me just how much you are."

Thor carried him to the bedroom, only a little awkwardly, and dumped him on the mattress.


	39. Chapter 39

Loki dragged him down as soon as he was able to, laughing at his half-hearted attempts to break away.

They ended up nearly wrestling, still fully clothed, in danger of rolling entirely off the bed.

He let Loki 'win' and pin him down for just a moment before slipping free to launch upwards and capture his twisty lover.

And at last Loki seemed to relent, lying in his arms and tilting his head back for Thor to kiss his neck.

"You know, we don't _have_ to have sex every time you come round," Thor murmured.

"Would you rather not? Because that's fine."

"I just want to be sure that you want it."

Loki sighed in fond exasperation.

"Thor, will you trust me that when I start something, that probably means I want it? I know it must be difficult because you know that at one point I was in the habit of having a mediocre seeing-to several times a night, but don't worry about it. I've spent a long time selling myself. I want to give myself to you. Now shut up and give me a hickey."

Thor jerked back in surprise.

"What?" he spluttered.

"Below the neck line, like on my collarbone so I can hide it."

"Why?"

"I've never had one before. I never let people mark me and now I'm asking you to. I've given some, so I know it won't hurt, not much. And then tomorrow, when I go to my father with this great idea that I could buy the land for legal safety, I can touch the mark a little and know that you're with me..."

God, he was good at this whole getting-his-way thing.

Thor didn't trust himself to express that thought in a complimentary fashion. Instead he unbuttoned Loki's shirt, found a likely looking spot, and fixed his lips to it.

He was trying to be gentle, difficult as that was as Loki squirmed beneath him. A light warning bite had the opposite of the desired effect, only serving to spark further movements and pleas for more.

"I want to have marks," Loki was saying. "I want to find them unexpectedly in the shower and spot them in the mirror. I want bruises and teethmarks. I want evidence."

Thor let go with a smack of lips, admiring the red bloom he'd left.

"OK," he said, unbuttoning Loki's jeans and sliding them off along with his underwear. "But you tell me right away if something hurts."

Loki nodded eagerly, pressing Thor's face back to his flesh.

"Give me another."

Collarbone. Stomach. Hip. Thigh. Calf.

Eventually Thor resorted to sucking Loki's cock in an effort to prevent him demanding more and becoming more bruise than person. It wasn't the most subtle of distractions, but it worked well enough.

And he didn't consider himself the best fellater (fellatioist?) in the world, but that didn't seem to matter. He narrowly avoided a broken nose when Loki bucked upwards, and decided to hold him down a little, which, if anything, made his control slip even further.

There was something deeply pleasing about watching Loki shake apart, red marks on his pale skin, while still fully clothed himself.

Not that he remained so for long as Loki recovered, lunged at him, and tugged at his fly to return the favour.

He came quickly, unable to resist the heat and wetness of Loki's mouth and throat after such a build up.

It was a little concerning when Loki immediately sprinted for the bathroom afterwards though.

"You OK?" Thor asked, watching Loki rinsing his mouth out.

"Does spunk always...taste like that? So bitter?"

"Well... Yeah. Have you never...?"

"Not without flavoured condoms, no. I don't know what STIs might do to my throat or stomach, but I don't want to find out. I'm all about dental dams too."

He spit a few times more before reaching for the bottle of mouthwash.

"But have you never even tasted your own?" Thor asked.

Loki stared at him in the mirror. "Why would you do that?"

Thor shrugged. "Curiousity."

Loki hummed as he swirled the mouthwash. Thor genuinely wasn't sure whether he should be offended that his come warranted such a reaction.

But to be fair, Loki proffered the bottle at him, pulling him into minty kisses after they'd both rinsed thoroughly.

They lay together, Loki running his fingers absent-mindedly through Thor's hair, lulling him into a comfortable doze.

"I like sleeping next to you," he murmured, half-asleep.

Loki shuffled closer.

"Well, when I live here, you can have this all the time."

That was a good argument. He should have gone with that from the start.


	40. Chapter 40

Thor was restless all day, fiddling with pens and paperclips, horribly distracted in morning team meetings where he was meant to bolster morale.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sif asked eventually.

"I'm just nervous about something that may or may not be happening today."

She looked at him strangely.

"OK, Mr Mysterious. Try to chill out. You're making me jumpy. Oh, and your brother called. You might want to communicate a little there."

He felt a vague sting of guilt that he hadn't called Balder in a while. He'd been so busy and stressed. And there was time before his afternoon duties. He really should check in.

"Hey, Thor. Long time no speak. So, who's the lucky lady?"

Thor blinked. "What lady?"

Balder laughed. "Don't be scared. I'm happy for you. Now we can share the marriage and grandkids pressure. Takes a weight off me and Karny."

"Who told you I was seeing someone?"

"Oh, no one _told_ me. It's just obvious. You're forever busy, even in the evenings, and your phone is off at lunchtimes and you're not at home... You went away for your birthday. What makes someone busier than a new girlfriend? I just put two and two together. So come on, what's she like?"

It would be so easy. He could just lie...

But no. He was keeping Balder in the dark about enough at the moment.

"It's a man. _He's_ a man. And you can't tell Mom and Dad."

"Sorry. Sorry, that was very presumptive of me. And, y'know. That's fine. So, uh... What's he like?"

Wonderful. Terrifying. Sweet. A liar. More honest than anyone Thor had ever met. Loving. A handful. Several handfuls. Possibly some kind of sex demon.

"He's pretty great," he said lamely.

"So... Serious?"

Thor ran a hand over his face. Well, moving in together and shutting down a brothel run by the in-laws which will probably destroy a state-wide company. How serious is that?

"Yeah, maybe."

"Well, Mom and Dad will probably be more accepting than you think. I mean they... They know you're bisexual. It's not like this is coming out of the blue."

Thor sighed. Bringing home a man would be one thing. Bringing home Laufey's son, even Laufey's runaway, black sheep son, was entirely another.

"I just don't want to tell them until I'm ready. And I want them to find out from me. OK?"

"Sure, I mean... Sure. No problem."

He asked about Karnilla. It seemed polite. Apparently she was dropping serious hints about engagement. Balder wasn't too keen.

This happened at least once every six months, but it was nice to go through the familiar motions of telling Balder that if he wanted to stay with her then maybe he should _consider_ it and after all, engagement wasn't marriage, it should buy him two more years at least...

He was much calmer afterwards. Good old Sif. She always knew what he needed, even if he didn't realise it himself.

He just hoped Loki was alright. He was helpless now, waiting for Loki to make moves on his side of the divide and just hoping for the best.

He couldn't be there. He couldn't stand with him, couldn't support. 

Had to leave Loki for the wolves.


	41. Chapter 41

His phone rang during the afternoon meeting and he ducked out, ignoring the slightly disapproving looks of his team leaders. This was not being a suitable example for impressionable young staff members.

"Lopt?" he said cautiously, just in case.

"Hi, Thor."

He sighed with relief. "Loki. How was it? Did it work?"

Loki hummed. "I think it was alright. You need to give me time though. It's different with my father. I can't exactly offer him sexual favours as a distraction. And I need to stay under the radar. He must think this is his idea. If possible, I have to make this seem bad for me. Like I'm embarrassed to sell my place. I might be prodigal, but I'm not golden yet. He's still angry with me for daring to try and make it on my own."

"Well, that's good then. He'll want to dispose of any symbols of your success. And it should placate your brothers to see you put down."

"That's true. I've planted the idea anyway. Can you call Hela? If there's talk of investigators sniffing around Surtur, I can maybe spread the idea of fear around some of Dad's underlings."

"Underlings?"

"Oh... Advisors, I think, technically. Royal viziers. People he might listen to. So, yeah. Call Hela and then start considering putting the land up for sale. If we can hurry my dad along, I can probably slip it by him before he knows what's going on."

"Yeah, I can do that. No problem."

There was a bit of a pause before Loki let out a happy little sigh.

"I can't believe we're doing this," he said. "I'd laugh in my father's face if I wasn't so scared of him."

"Well, you know. Keep it together just a little longer. Once you've given me the word, I'll put it up for auction before the end of the month."

"Can you do that? Sounds a bit...unusually soon."

"I'm horribly incompetent, remember? I can make whatever poor decisions I want."

Loki didn't say anything.

"That's where you say, 'Yes, that's a brilliant scheme.'"

Still nothing. Thor's heart lurched.

"Hello?" he tried. "Hello?"

"Hello," a bright female voice said.

Thor blinked. "You're not Lopt," he managed.

She giggled. "Is this Don? Hi there. I've heard so much about you. Mr Laufeyson just handed me his phone on his way out. Don't worry, he was just called to an urgent but extremely short meeting. He won't be long."

Oh, right. The assistant. Sigyn.

"We were kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh..." she said knowingly and Thor winced because no, not that... "Well, he's asked me to keep you on the line and then you can...get right back to it."

He waited for hold music or just being put down on a desk or something.

"So tell me about yourself, Don."

He sighed. "How about you tell me what Lo... Mr Laufeyson has said about me."

She laughed. "All lies, huh?"

"Something like that."

He listened politely as she launched into a description. Apparently Don was a brilliant surgeon, endlessly selfless and philanthropic, forever saving children from rare disorders. And then she said...

"Also he says you're very good. Physically, I mean. Top marks all around, he says."

Thor spluttered.

"Oh," she said. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that. It was nothing bad, I asked and he said... There were no details. Don't be mad at him. Gosh, I'm sorry."

She was adorable. Unless this was an act. Which it might be.

Thor was mumbling about it being no big deal when his ear was filled with rustling sounds.

"Sorry, Don," he heard Loki say. "Minor emergency. I hope Sigyn didn't bother you?"

He could almost hear the harsh stare he was fixing the poor girl with.

"No, it was fine," he said. "Everything OK?"

"Yeah, but I think we might have to bring our date forward. Shall we say Friday?"

"Er... The auction? On Friday? That's, uh... Soon."

"So no good for you?"

"No, I can do it. No problem. Apartment on the market?"

"Yeah. I hope she pulls through. See you then."

Thor sighed, wished him goodbye, and hung up.

Suddenly he had a lot of work to do.


	42. Chapter 42

"Sif," Thor called, half-falling in his office door.

"Oh, good," she said. "I nearly came to get you out of that meeting. I have Hela on hold for you. She's a little...irate."

Any qualms he had about abandoning the meeting still in progress downstairs vanished instantly.

"Great. I was about to ask you to call her. Can you get hold of the wetlands organisation next? And then the property auction house. And then my father. In that order."

Hela was aurally bristling.

"I'm not accustomed to being kept waiting," she said, as Thor apologised profusely. "But I wanted to update you. Tyr has his claws into Surtur. Various books are being seized as we speak. Obviously, it will take a long time for this to ripple through to Laufey, but it's begun. If you two can stop canoodling long enough to buy this land, now is your chance."

He thanked her warmly, which seemed to almost surprise her.

Then again, if she spent most of her time telling people to live within their means or undertaking bankruptcy procedures, maybe she wasn't used to gratitude.

The woman from the wetlands had a lot of information to give him about birds and grasses and insects. He listened politely for a few minutes before informing her the land would be going up for auction at the end of the week.

He winced at her surprise and disappointment. But he said he hoped to see her there.

The staff at the auction house were mildly furious at the lack of warning, but he was very insistent, making it more work to get rid of him than to schedule the sale.

They got him the last possible slot, the least lucrative. 4pm on Friday. He took it. If anything, it would help cement his reputation with Laufey as a fool.

His father...was more than mildly furious.

"What has possessed you? What has possibly made you think this is a good idea?"

"Just...trust me, Dad. I can't explain, but by the time the year is out, that place will burn. I swear it. I know what I'm doing."

"You'd better. This is reckless, Thor. Plenty ways for this to go wrong, however foolproof you think your plan is."

"I have faith."

He did. He really did. He had complete faith in Loki to pull this off.

A carefully written email. That was the only way to end today.

"Laufey," he began, no formal address.

"I know you are keen to purchase the land we discussed at our last meeting. You may therefore be interested to know that it will be sold at auction this Friday at 4pm should you wish to attend or make a commission bid.

"Regards, Thor Odinson."

No need to say what kind of regards either...

Send.

He'd set it in motion. It was down to Loki now.


	43. Chapter 43

He couldn't get hold of Loki.

Every phone call either went to voicemail - where he couldn't leave messages, just in case - or were answered by Sigyn just for 'Don' to be told that Lopt was busy and also sorry.

It was worrying. Every sound of a car outside his apartment had him leaping to the window to see if it was Loki coming to see him. Every time his phone rang, or the buzzer on Sif's desk sounded, he was disappointed that it wasn't the one person he longed to see.

When Friday finally rolled around, he felt sick. Had Loki managed to sell his apartment? Was he going to be bidding or Laufey? Had it worked?

His father had shown up to the auction, unusually for him, with his stoic assistant Heimdall in tow silently surveying the room and clearly taking mental notes.

The wetlands lady, looking nervous, fiddling with the straps on her bag and the ends of her curls.

Sif squeezed Thor's shoulder reassuringly when the entire Jotunheim contingent arrived. There was Laufey and Angrboda with Loki and a petite dark-skinned woman, presumably Sigyn. Behind them, two younger men, sharp-featured like Loki but more heavily-built than him. Helblindi and Byleister no doubt.

They'd been given the smallest of all the auction rooms, barely room for the attendees, and poorly publicised. The other state realtors hadn't shown and there were only two commission bids.

Thor felt like he could finally breathe again when Loki put in the first offer.

It was a bloodbath. The wetlands association were defeated early, leaving their representative looking thoroughly disappointed. Thor's heart ached for her a little. But this was necessary.

Loki versus commission went on for some time, until Laufey called a pause to proceedings and asked what the highest offer was. The auctioneer boggled at him, haltingly reading off the number.

Laufey looked expectantly at his son, who winced and raised his hand to add an extra 500 to it.

Sold to Lopt Laufeyson.

Thor could only watch as Laufey slung an arm around his son's shoulders and bustled him out unprotestingly.

He did catch the minute wink Loki shot him from the doorway though.

"So," Odin said as Thor gathered his papers. "What exactly was your plan? Hope that Laufey would miss the auction? You know he's too smart for that."

"Does Laufey own the land?" Thor asked, unable to stop himself.

Odin huffed. "Please, Thor. The father or the son, it makes no difference."

Thor shrugged. He still wasn't willing to bring his father in on the scheme just yet. Plausible deniability worked better with fewer liabilities.

Odin's disgust still stung a little. Heimdall merely looked at him, calmly, as though he could see all the workings of his mind. He even glanced knowingly towards the door.

Thor swallowed hard.

They only had to keep it up a little longer. Then they'd be free.


	44. Chapter 44

Thor was woken at 3am by a drunk and chilly Loki crawling into bed with him.

A bit of a shock, but not entirely displeasing.

"Did you close my front door?"

Loki mumbled something that might have been a maybe. He was sprawled out by the time Thor came back from checking but with eyes open and a smile on his lips.

"Hey," he said in a loud whisper. "C'mere."

Thor sighed. "You're drunk."

Loki laughed. "I know. Laufey took me out for drinks, so I drank. But c'mere..."

He locked both arms around Thor as soon as he gingerly slipped back into bed, burrowing his face into his neck. He hadn't managed to get out of his clothes though. That was a good sign. Thor wasn't comfortable with things escalating beyond cuddles and kisses while Loki was this far gone.

"You need to squirrel with me," Loki said.

"I... What?"

"Ssh. Ssh, you need to listen. You need to listen and be a squirrel."

Thor adjusted his position slightly, trying to ignore the chill of Loki's fingers and made a valiant attempt at going back to sleep.

"What kind of squirrel are you, Thor?"

"I don't know."

Loki whined and slapped at his chest.

"OK. OK, I'm one of those big black ones in Canada."

Loki seemed to consider this for a moment.

"No, you're not one of them."

"OK, then you pick what kind of squirrel I am."

There was a long pause. Thor half-assumed Loki had fallen asleep when he suddenly spoke again.

"Blond squirrel."

Thor chuckled helplessly.

"OK, fine. I'm a blond squirrel. And you're my little squirrel mate and we're warm and safe in a tree where nothing can get to us. So we should sleep. While it's safe."

That seemed to do it. Or Loki was just too tired to stay up complaining that Thor wasn't taking this seriously. He passed out against Thor's chest, drooling slightly.

Thor couldn't bring himself to dislodge him, and let sleep wash over him like falling face first into black velvet.

He was woken by Loki groaning, regretting the night before it seemed, and resisted the temptation to tease him, settling for making coffee instead.

Loki grasped the mug gratefully.

"Hard week?" Thor asked.

A sigh. "Like you wouldn't believe. I consider myself pretty good at hiding my emotions, but it was tough. Letting myself be bullied and punished and knowing I just had to take it and keep pretending that selling my place was torture when actually it played into my hands. And I missed you."

"I know. Still, done now. Signed. You made it."

Loki raised his coffee in celebration.

"I'm the proud owner of a marsh. Hooray. Still, at least I get compensation."

"Taking down the lodge?"

"Well, that. And getting to live with you. I'll start moving my stuff in later today if that's OK. My father rushed the sale of my place through to make sure I had money for the auction. But he didn't give me any of it. It's all mine. Every penny."

Thor had been sitting on the edge of the bed, but he slipped back in when Loki drained his mug, wrapping both arms around him and letting him retake his position against his chest.

"I can hear your heartbeat," Loki whispered.

And for a moment, Thor was completely at peace. He was comfortable, holding someone he cared for deeply, their plan had succeeded. Now he could think about inviting Lorelei and her sister, and Angela, and burning the lodge to the ground.

Concerns crept back into his mind as Loki dozed though. How Odin would react to their relationship. How the circumstances of their meeting would doubtless come up. What Loki's family would do to him.

He was pondering this when Loki's phone rang. He moaned, so Thor went for it. The flashing display read 'Sigyn'.

He answered it.

"Lopt's phone. Sorry, he's unavailable right now."

She sounded very upset, sniffling and sobbing.

"Doctor Blake? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, he made me tell..."

Loki shuffled out of the bedroom at Thor's increasingly concerned tone.

"Slow down," he said. "Calm down. Who made you tell what?"

It took a while for her to be able to speak.

"Byleister. He came to my house looking for Mr Laufeyson, and I said I didn't know where he was and he... He said I was lying and then he said some awful things about Lopt and... And he made me tell him that the last time I had seen Lopt he was getting in a taxi and did I know the address and... I was so scared..."

Thor's heart was racing. Discovery was imminent. If Byleister was on his way, he'd report back instantly. They had to... What? They could run, possibly. Maybe that was their only choice.

"Hey," he said to Sigyn softly, trying to sound comforting. "It's not your fault. Thank you for calling, for warning us. Is there someone there with you?"

She said that she was going to her mother's house. And asked if he could tell Lopt that she was giving notice. He promised to pass that along.

Loki looked at him from slightly bloodshot eyes.

"Problem. Your brother's coming. Here. Now. Threatened Sigyn for the address you left for last night. He doesn't know the apartment number, but as soon as he spots Odinson he'll put two and two together..."

Loki seemed much less concerned than Thor felt was necessary.

"Which brother?" he asked.

"Er... Byleister."

Loki nodded. "Alright. Do you have any rope or other restraining equipment?"

Thor stared at him in a mixture of confusion and horror.

"But... But we have to run," he said helplessly.

"No. Let me talk to him first."

"While he's tied up?"

Loki shrugged. "Trust me. It's the best way to have a conversation with him."

Thor gave up on his brand of logic, and went to fetch his tie collection. At least they wouldn't be too rough on Byleister's wrists.


	45. Chapter 45

"So, what, he shows up and we...jump him?" Thor asked. "I don't think that's going to make him sympathetic to our cause somehow."

Loki was tucking ties neatly into the pockets of the jeans he was still wearing from the previous night.

"This is just a precaution. Byleister isn't so bad. Helblindi is, sure, but Leist is pretty much a kid. He's coming here alone, trying to prove himself by figuring out my game."

"Not so bad? He threatened Sigyn. Scared her out of her home."

"Yeah, but he didn't actually hurt her. Helblindi would have put her in the hospital. That's the difference between them. If I can talk to him, I can probably convince him to keep his mouth shut. But if I say so, I'll need you to grab him. You're stronger than he is. Trust me, it'll be fine."

Trust was the least of Thor's worries. There was no way this would work.

He chewed on his lip, watching the clock, trying to estimate when their guest might arrive. Loki seemed incredibly calm, getting a glass of water, his face still a little pinched from his headache.

Loki answered the door when the chime rang, as though this were the most natural thing in the world. Byleister stood in the doorway, staring from one of them to the other.

"Are you coming in?" Loki asked. "Or are you planning to stand there gawping all day?"

Byleister shook his head in disbelief, stepping over the threshold.

"I can't..." he said. "You and... And him?"

"Surprise."

Thor winced as Byleister reached for his phone.

"I'm telling Dad. You can't do this, Lopt. I won't let you."

"No, you're not. Not until I've explained to you what's going on."

Byleister laughed without humour, pressing buttons. "I don't need details of your sex life, thank you."

Loki suddenly lunged for the phone, catching his brother off balance and yelling at Thor to grab him.

Thor barely had time to register his actions before he was dumping Byleister on the couch, arms bound behind his back with a rather nice grey silk number.

"I tried to do this the easy way," Loki said, flopping down in the closest armchair. "But no. You never let me."

"Shut up. You can't keep me here forever. And when you let me go I'm telling Dad and Odin and suing you both for assault."

Loki smiled. "Let me tell you why you won't do that."

He launched into an apparently disjointed explanation that he didn't want the company. That he was planning to step out of the way, let his brothers have a chance.

"I just wanted the wetlands. That's all," he said softly. "And now that I have them, I'm going to quietly slip out of your lives. You don't need to worry about me. In fact...I can help make sure that the company goes to you."

Byleister narrowed his eyes. "Why would you do that? Why would you help me?"

"Can't I offer support and aid to my favourite brother?"

That got no response. Loki sighed.

"OK, look. I want my relationship with Mr Odinson and my plan to leave kept secret a little while longer. If you can do this, I will offer you any advice you wish to ask me. You know that I'm good. Helblindi gets results, but his approach lacks...finesse."

Byleister snorted. "What, you're going to train me up? Make me a whore like you?"

Thor had been quietly standing behind Loki's chair after his brief flurry of activity. His hands tightened against the back.

"What did you say?" he growled.

Byleister looked at him, seemed to make a snap judgment and smiled.

"Oh, so you got yourself a boyfriend to take care of you? That's nice. Sweet. I bet he thinks you actually care about him too."

Thor could feel his anger rising, wanting to wipe that smug expression from Byleister's face. Loki didn't look at him as he reached back to pat his hand reassuringly.

"I'm happy, Leist," he said quietly. "And that's all I want. I'm going to step down and I'm going to work somewhere else and I'm going to live with Thor Odinson. And either you can help me and I'll help you in return, or you can not help me and I'll ruin your life."

Scoffing. "Oh, yeah? How would you do that?"

There was a pause. Thor practically held his breath. Maybe this was it. Maybe Loki couldn't talk them out of this one.

"I'll tell Mom," Loki said.

Thor watched the blood drain from Byleister's face. His mouth dropped open.

"You... You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

"She wouldn't believe you. You're a fucking liar."

"Do you really think you can take that risk?"

His eyes flicked from side to side as though seeking an escape route. Finally he shuddered.

"Alright, you win. I won't tell and you won't tell."

"See how easy that was?" Loki purred with just an edge of mockery. "Couldn't we have just agreed to that from the start?"

He got up to remove the ties but Thor reached out to stop him.

"Apologise to your brother, Byleister," he said. "You were very disrespectful."

"Fuck you," Byleister spat. "Let me go and I'll leave you to it. I'm sure you have plenty to be getting on with. He owes you at least a blowjob for this, right?"

Loki waved Thor off when he opened his mouth to reply, untying the bindings and letting Byleister out.

"If you're leaving the family, can you just fucking go already?" 

"Not just yet. Got to let Dad bask in victory a little longer. It'll make it more satisfying when I yank the rug out. So not a word, or you know what I'll do."

He leant his head heavily against the door when it closed. Thor walked up behind him, running his hands down his arms.

"I feel that went well," Loki mumbled.

Thor snorted. "I'll take your word for it. I can't believe he broke from you threatening to tell on him though."

Loki chuckled and turned around, letting Thor's hands drop to his waist.

"Our mother is... She sees the world the way she believes it ought to be. Or at least, she says she does. Now, me, I know better. Dad runs the show, but she's making the killing. She knows that either way, she wins. She gets money for as long as he's operating and if it all blows up, she can deny all knowledge and take her half in the inevitable divorce. She'd be the smartest person I know if she didn't drink so much."

Thor shifted uneasily. "So she doesn't...love your father?"

"To be fair, he doesn't love her either. Married her for looks. Found out how cunning she was afterwards. Reminds me of someone else now I think about it."

He pulled Thor back when he tried to move away.

"Sorry," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the corner of Thor's mouth. "We're not like them. Bad joke."

"What would you tell her?" Thor asked, trying to resist the urge to soften too much. Loki didn't need to know how easily he could counter Thor's annoyance.

"Mom loves Leist. Always been her favourite. After what happened with me and Helblindi, she tried to shield him from it all. She didn't want another son going off and beating people...or beating people off. So she made him promise not to be involved, gives him a generous allowance not to be, and as far as she knows in her booze-addled head, he's not. But picture the scene as I rush to her side to tearfully tell her all about what sweet little Byleister has been up to. 'Oh, Mother, Mother, taking your money and his father's too, his knuckles stained with blood, I had to tell you.' He'd be written out of the will with me and Hel before you could say 'fraternal affection.' Secrets and lies. What all families are made of."

Thor could only nod in agreement at that.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woke up to find I've hit 100 subscribers on this. 100 people want this emailed to them every day? I am amazed.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, we're getting towards the end now. Have some moderately smutty fluff.

Thor wasn't allowed to go with Loki to collect his things in the afternoon once his hangover had cleared. Apparently Loki was afraid that they might be seen. But he could help carry boxes up from the taxi.

They were rather few. Two labelled as DVDs, one as books/misc, and then several bags and suitcases of clothes.

"Is this seriously it?" Thor asked. "There's not another batch?"

"No. I actually got rid of some stuff. Quite a lot. You know, I'm starting a new era in my life. It felt right to leave some of the old behind. And I don't need the furniture or anything so... That's all going."

For all that he said he was fine, Thor couldn't shake the feeling that Loki was actually quite upset about it. He helped to unpack the misc box, finding space for Loki's keepsakes and hanging his pictures. It made it feel more like home. Maybe.

"I can stay tonight," Loki said over dinner of stir fry made from whatever was in Thor's fridge. "But I should go home tomorrow. Pretend like I'm looking for a place to stay instead of knowing exactly where I'm going."

That actually got Thor onto something he wanted to talk about.

"How are you going to explain...us to your family?"

Loki shrugged. "I'm going to tell them, be insulted for it, be told that I'm disgusting and perverted and then come here to eat ice cream and probably not interact with my father ever again, taking his precious lodge with me. You?"

Thor hesitated. "My brother already knows I'm seeing a man. But I didn't say who, obviously. But... Well, Frigga will accept it. She just wants everyone to be happy. But Odin..."

"You think he'll take it badly because I'm male?"

"No, I think he'll take it badly because you're...who you are. But he'll come around to you. In time. But I think it will be difficult and I think he might say some things he'll later regret."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Thor shook his head. "I can handle it. The only question is when."

"I'm supposed to meet with Lorelei to cross all the T's on Tuesday. So I'm probably going to laugh triumphantly in my father's face either then or Wednesday. It's a shame you can't be there. I'll give you a blow by blow afterwards."

Alright. He could tell his family next week. It would be fine.

And when they'd gone to bed and he had Loki gasping above him, rolling his hips torturously slowly, agonising them both, he truly believed that.

His nails skittered down Loki's sides, making him groan, speeding up, breath coming in harsh pants.

"I want to feel it," Loki said suddenly. "I want you to come inside me. I want it, please..."

Thor pulled him down for breathless kisses, thrusting upwards in an erractic rhythm, drinking Loki's moans.

They managed to find a system, Loki grinding downwards as Thor pushed up, going impossibly deep, taking a moment to suck a fresh bruise on Loki's collarbone where his previous one was starting to fade.

He felt Loki's hand against his skin, jerking his cock between their bodies and sped up just slightly, focusing on the sounds and feeling of Loki clenching around him, finally coming with a cry.

Loki's eyes widened at the feeling of being marked so intimately, his hips stuttering as he too managed to find release, painting Thor's torso with his spend and tightening almost painfully around his cock.

"Was that OK?" Thor asked. "Didn't feel too weird?"

Loki dismounted, flopping down next to him.

"Good weird," he said. "I feel like we're... I don't know. A little closer. Because we've shared something new. I like it."

Thor rolled over to kiss some more, Loki's come smearing against their skin. And he felt now was a good time to...

"Can I ask you some things? You don't need to answer if you don't want to."

"What kind of things?"

Thor thought for a second. "A sexy thing and a not sexy thing."

Loki smiled. "OK, the not sexy thing, then then sexy thing, and then you clean me up. Fair?"

Sure.

"You and Hela talked about a guy who went bankrupt and you charged him a lot because he wanted something in particular. What...was the something?"

Loki looked at him a little strangely before rolling to stare at the ceiling.

"Far be it from me to kink shame, _Daddy_ ," he said. "But... Well, it wasn't one of my hard limits like blood or anything, but he... He liked to watch. He really liked to watch."

"What, he liked to watch you get off?"

"He liked for me to sleep with his wife while he watched."

Thor's eyes bulged. "Why? Was she OK with it? Was it her idea? Did she know he was there?"

Loki waved a hand vaguely. "It started they wanted a third for a threesome. I met with them, I agreed, we got started and he... Just couldn't do it. And so I went down on his wife, hoping that would sort him out and before I know it, he's sitting back and... Directing, I guess. Like we were his own private porno. And I asked if he wanted to be involved once he was hard, but no. He got off on the control, and she just liked the sex so I got invited back. Often."

"That doesn't...seem too scandalous."

Loki laughed. "No, until they let it slip that she wasn't his wife. She was his half-sister."

"Oh, my God."

"Yeah, they had... A weird relationship. It was like they couldn't bring themselves to fuck each other, even though they wanted to, so they used me. Like it didn't count. It was strange. I probably would have minded less if they'd just gone for it. You know, they were adults, not raised together. I don't think they really felt like siblings, but they knew they were and I knew they were and... So anyway I charged a lot because it was hard to stay focused when all I could think about was that this guy was telling me how to fuck his sister the way he wanted to fuck his sister. 'Touch her there, do it harder, kiss her, suck on her tits.' I said it was because there were two of them, my rates were higher. So yeah. What was your sexy question?"

"Um... Yeah. Erm. Sometimes, if I do it right, you come without touching your cock. And, uh..."

"How do I do that?" 

"Yeah... I mean, I know about prostate simulation and all, but... That doesn't get you off by itself, it just makes you edge."

"I won't lie. I trained myself to do it. It took a while and it was difficult, but I managed it. For two reasons. Firstly, because when you're tied up, you kinda have to rely on your partner to jerk you off and some of them weren't very reliable that way and I wanted to give myself a better chance of enjoying things. But mostly because men _fucking love it_ when you come on just their cock. Tell me it didn't boost your ego that first time, that lunch time, when I came untouched."

Thor shifted. "I guess I did feel...a little proud of myself. And also surprised because I didn't know it could actually happen."

"Well, there you go. And unless you want me to completely ruin these sheets, I think you owe me a little aftercare."

The sight of Loki lying blissed out among the blankets almost made up for having to leave the warmth of the bed.


	47. Chapter 47

Just because he knew Loki had to leave didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Thor kept him in bed as long as possible, nuzzling his hair and stroking his sides, playfully pulling him back every time he tried to get up. Until Loki laughed and said that no, really, he had to shower and leave, and Thor reluctantly let him slip out of his fingers.

"Just think," Loki said in the doorway. "By the end of the week, we'll be official. And we can burn the lodge down and start to move on."

It sounded wonderful. Simple. Thor couldn't wait. He could almost forget that he would have to face Odin in the meantime.

He spent his afternoon reorganising the apartment, clearing shelves for Loki's DVDs and books. It was painfully obvious that there was no way his clothes were going to fit in the closet though.

Never mind. Loki could have his own closet. Thor could get one for him, a little welcoming present.

It was nothing fancy. A basic flatpack wardrobe, but Thor still felt rather pleased when he had assembled it and placed it on what he was beginning to think of as Loki's side of the room.

He thought it would be nice to hang up Loki's things. To stop them from becoming crushed in the suitcases.

Definitely not because he wanted to have a look at what Loki had brought with him.

The first two were filled with his nicer outfits. All tailored suits and silk scarves, protected by the plastic wrap of the dry cleaners. The third contained what Thor considered his 'normal' clothes, the ordinary office wear and tshirts and jeans and sweatpants, underwear, socks.

He cleared a drawer for those, marvelling at the fact that Loki owned sweatpants and wore sweatpants and that he was likely to see him in sweatpants...

A small rolling suitcase contained shoes. Patent leather dress shoes, black work shoes, winter boots, two pairs of heels. He placed them all carefully at one side of the wardrobe floor, leaving space to store the suitcases at the other.

Which meant the final bag contained what he'd been pretending he wasn't looking for.

Thor opened it like a treasure chest, looking down at the silks and lace. He hung each item reverently. The blue corset he had admired before, a red twin to it, several black underbusts, a beautiful brocade version in green and gold... 

He was already wondering if he could convince Loki to give him some kind of fashion show.

Stockings and garters and lace slips got tucked carefully away on the top wardrobe shelf, along with a small zip-bag that turned out to contain make up.

It was the final item that made him smile most though.

He still had the red camisole from their time away, and the silver stockings. And so he recognised that this garment was not in Loki's size, but in his own.

He lifted it out, a lace version this time that would reveal everything beneath it. He wasn't sure why the idea thrilled him more than mere nakedness. It was more intimate somehow.

And he swallowed hard when he shook it out and dislodged a small piece of paper and matching underwear.

Picking up the note was almost an afterthought.

"Dear Thor," it read. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist having a peek. If you're reading this, I expect you to wear these when I come back as forfeit for being so nosey. I look forward to it. Loki x"

Thor examined the garments again.

Some forfeit.


	48. Chapter 48

Thor wasn't surprised when he didn't hear from Loki for a couple of days. He'd have a lot of paperwork to sort out.

He was surprised when Laufey barged into his office, unannounced, on the Wednesday though.

"You," he said. "You...bastard."

Thor tried to remain calm.

"You've had a chat with your son, then."

He could see Sif in her booth, looking more scared than he'd ever seen her as Laufey stalked across the room.

"You planned the whole thing, didn't you? Hooking him in, turning him against me. I should have known the little whore would have gone for someone like you. What did you do? Promise him part of this place if he lay on his back and played along?"

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing. Laufey was so determined to see what he wanted to see. Determined to see Loki as some mindless clay doll to be molded by outside influence. 

His hands were clenching into fists when Odin appeared in the doorway.

"Can we help you?" he asked coldly, composure not even ruffled as Laufey rounded on him.

"Did you know about this?" he demanded. "I bet you did. I bet it was your idea, you one-eyed..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Thor practically felt the stab of the finger towards him.

"He seduced my son," Laufey raged. "Brainwashed him. Turned him against his family, used him for his own ends."

"No," Thor said, louder than he'd meant to. "It's not like that. We are in a relationship. I care about him very much and he feels the same way about me. Everything he has done has been of his own volition. And you can accept that or you can... You can fuck off."

Laufey shook in anger as Odin looked at him, single good eye looking mildly horrified.

"You and Lopt Laufeyson? When were you going to tell me, Thor?"

Thor sighed. "I didn't know. Loki and... For a start, he prefers to be called Loki. He worked for us, using his matrynomic. So when we started seeing each other, I didn't know who he was. And when I found out... I asked him to help me with the lodge, and we hatched the plan together. The land is his. You can't have it, Laufey. And you can't have him."

OK, so maybe omitting the whole 'I met him on a site where I purchased his affection' thing was a little underhand, but...still.

Laufey laughed suddenly.

"You think I'm just going to walk away? You think this is the end? You are never seeing Lopt again. Ever. I will make sure of it."

He shoved past Odin on his way out.

"My regards to your daughter."

He left Odin visibly shaken for the first time in Thor's memory and Thor himself feeling sick.

Something was going to happen to Loki. He could feel it.

He was distantly aware of Sif rapidly talking to him as he lunged for his phone.


	49. Chapter 49

Loki's phone rang twice before he heard it answered. All he could make out was a dull roar. Like a waterfall. Or fast-moving traffic."

"Loki?" he said desperately. "Loki, is that you? You have to run. Run now, your dad..."

"Too late, Odinson."

Thor shivered. "Byleister? Where are you? Where's Lopt? Tell me."

"Sorry, can't help you. Goodbye."

The line went dead.

Thor looked up in horror. Sif had planted Odin firmly in a chair and was fussing over him.

"Help me," Thor said. "Tell me what to do. I don't know what... They've taken him somewhere. They'll hurt him, make him sign the land over. I have to...to save him, rescue him from them."

Odin shook his head sadly. "Where do we start, Thor? They won't be in their office. Or anywhere you expect. If I were you, I'd stake out the hospitals."

Thor felt the tears at the corners of his eyes. Loki had said Thor could protect him. That he'd be safer if they were together. And now...

Thor called Lorelei and asked her, begged her to go to the lodge and call him if Laufey or his sons showed up. She laughed, high and humourless, and told him to get fucked. She didn't have to deal with it anymore.

He could feel his breath coming short and harsh.

"Sif, could you go speak to Algrim Kurse, please? Ask him to go up to the lodge on the wetlands and..."

"And tell you if Laufey or the others show. Got it. Don't leave. Wherever you're going, I'm coming too."

There would be no point arguing with her.

He managed to get hold of Balder and brought him up to speed as quickly as possible - I'm seeing Laufey's son, he bought the lodge for me, now he's in trouble and it's my fault - allowing no time for the inevitable questions.

"Help me?" he asked.

Balder was saying that he would, of course he would, when Sif ran back up the stairs.

"He's off," she said. "Where are we going?"

Thor didn't answer her right away, asking Balder to be prepared to hear from him again soon, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

After he'd hung up, he yelled up the stairs for Heimdall to come and take care of Odin.

He descended from Odin's office, took one look, and simply said, "The Jotunheim boy?"

Thor didn't bother asking how he figured it out. Heimdall always seemed to be three steps ahead. He helped his father up as Odin seemed to come back to himself.

"Be careful, Thor," he said. "I couldn't bear losing you."

"I will be. I promise. But I have to do this. I need to."

"I understand. Good luck."

He watched Heimdall lead Odin out and turned to Sif.

"Where are we going?" she repeated.

Thor took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to steel himself.

"We're going to save my boyfriend."


	50. Chapter 50

Thor hurtled down the stairs with Sif at his heels.

"You might want to be more specific," she was saying, struggling a little to keep up. "Thor? Do you know where they are?"

"No, but I know who might."

She chased him through the sub-basement and into his car, barely having time to throw her seatbelt on before he was hurriedly reversing out.

"Hey," she said gently. "I know you're scared, but you need to breathe. You'll be no use to Loki if you crash on the way."

It was hard to keep hold of himself as he struggled with the city traffic. 

Eventually, stuck at the lights, he looked in his rearview mirror and decided he had to move faster.

"You can drive, right?" he said, starting to get out of the car. "I'm going to Jotunheim's offices. Park and wait for me out front."

He shut the door on Sif yelling about insurance and took off at a run. It was only six blocks or so, but everything seemed to get in his way. Crowds, mobility scooters, skateboarders, prams. People stared at him as he sprinted past, his shirt out of place among the city joggers.

The receptionist seemed thoroughly alarmed by his arrival.

"Angrboda," he panted. "Which floor?"

"She isn't expecting..." the girl began.

Thor flat-out growled at her. "Which floor?"

"Seven," she squeaked, visibly pressing a panic button under the desk.

Thor walked calmly to the elevator, watching security arrive just as the doors closed. It couldn't move fast enough for him, floors dragging and the twinkling music setting his teeth on edge.

Angrboda seemed surprised but unruffled by his arrival, blinking owlishly as he threw the locks on her door.

"Where are they?"

"Who?"

He snarled. "Laufey and his sons. Where have they taken Lopt? If you don't tell me, I swear..."

"You'll what? Strike me? Assault goes down so well these days."

Thor laughed. "Oh, no. But wouldn't Laufey be interested to know that you financed Lopt's first attempt to leave? I know what you had him do and I have no problem with revealing it."

She smiled, but he could see a hint of fear in her eyes.

"He'd never believe you," she said.

There was a knock at the door. Thor ignored it.

"You know what the lodge is for," he tried. "And I don't think you like it much. I think it burns you to think of him, up there. All those young girls with their perfect skin and innocent eyes, they're who he wants, not you."

She stiffened. "I came to terms with it a long time ago."

Security were now hammering on the door. He was out of time.

"Please," he said, one last-ditch attempt. "I'm begging you. You cared for Lopt once. I don't know what they're doing to him, but it won't be good. If you have any affection left for him, tell me where they are. Let me save him. I love him."

Her eyes flickered slightly. "And it won't come back to me?"

"I won't mention your name."

A loud thump, as if someone had thrown themselves against the door.

"Please," Thor said desperately.

She stared at him for a moment and sighed.

"They might be at the warehouse. He's used that for this purpose before. You know the storage bays on the east edge of town? Number 6. Try there."

"Thank you," Thor said. "Thank you so much."

He'd clocked the fire escape when he came in. Angrboda didn't even seem surprised when he opened the window and leapt onto it, taking the stairs two at a time.

He hit the ground running, circling the block and throwing himself into the car beside an understandably jumpy Sif.

"Turn around," he said. "Drive now. We'll pick up Balder on the way."

She jerked into gear, tyres squealing slightly.

The Jotunheim security guards vanished in the rearview mirror.


	51. Chapter 51

Balder was waiting by the road for quick pick up.

"This is so exciting," he said. "I mean, sucks that we have to do this, but we're going to be heroes."

"Yeah. Let's hope so," Thor said, removing his tie.

He'd reached a state of eerie calm. He had only one point of focus. Loki. And getting to him.

"So, what's the plan?" Balder asked.

"Plan?"

"Well, these are dangerous people. Do you know anything about fighting? I don't. Sif?"

"I did staff fighting and fencing in college," she said, eyes glued to the road.

"The plan is get in, save Loki, get out."

There was a vague sense of unease from his companions.

"I'll improvise," Thor insisted.

The rest of the drive was spent in mildly uncomfortable silence until Balder spoke again.

"So you and Laufey's son, huh?"

Thor didn't even look at him. "Yeah. Me and Loki. Problem?"

"Not if you're happy together. I'm surprised, but... It's not like you woke up one day like, 'Hey, I'm going to find the most awkward person to have a relationship with.'"

"No. And yes. We're happy. Or we will be, once this is over."

Sif had slowed down as they approached the warehouse to better disguise their arrival. They sat in the car once she'd stopped.

"OK," Thor said. "Warehouse 6. We should try to look inside before we go in, see if we can get a layout and think of a plan from there."

It was like walking through cement. Thor was uncomfortably reminded of watching Westerns as a kid as their feet crunched slightly on the dirt tracks.

They were a few yards away when they heard the first groan. 

Balder grabbed Thor's arm when he half lunged towards the noise. 

They crept forwards, close enough to peer in through a tiny, scratched window. The door was ajar, but they'd risk being seen. Sound carried though.

Loki was kneeling on the floor, bleeding from a split lip and face bruised.

"Get up," came Laufey's voice.

Loki didn't move.

"You can make this easy or hard, Lopt."

"Fuck you."

Loki seemed to make a valiant attempt at spitting, but didn't quite manage it.

"Get up," Laufey said again. "Sign it."

Loki was shaking his head.

"Don't you see? He's not coming for you. No one is coming. I went to his office to ask if you were together and he said not anymore. He doesn't care about you. He was only using you to get what he wanted and now he's left you, like he was always going to. I'm the only one you can trust. Everyone else will just use you and leave you."

"No," Loki moaned. "No, he loves me. I know he does."

He flinched automatically as Laufey approached, petting his hair.

"Poor thing. Still believing his lies. Lucky that your brothers and I are here to show you the truth."


	52. Chapter 52

Thor could hear Byleister protesting on the sidelines, telling Laufey to give him more time, that he would see reason.

Even Helblindi was hesitating.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Hold him still."

"I mean, this isn't just some guy, it's _Lopt_..."

"Hold him still!"

Loki struggled as Helblindi moved into view and crouched down, gripping him around the waist and clamping his right arm to his body.

Laufey had stepped away and Loki screamed as he approached again, kicking out desperately.

"Are you going to sign it?"

Loki didn't seem to hear the question, scratching at Helblindi's arms, trying to free himself.

"Dad," Byleister was saying. "Dad, stop. You're going to hurt him too much. It's too risky."

Laufey was suddenly there, kneeling next to Loki and pulling his left arm out straight.

"Last chance," he said. "I'm only doing this because I love you."

Thor had already started moving when he saw the hammer being raised, yelling out, sending panic throughout the room as he burst through the door.

He barrelled into Laufey with his full weight knocking him backwards and pinning him down.

His fists slammed into him again and again, body, legs, face, anywhere he could reach.

"You don't touch him," he growled. "You never touch him again."

And somehow the hammer was in his hand and he was raising it above his head, enjoying the fear in Laufey's eyes as he realised what was about to...

"Thor, stop!"

The sound of Loki's voice made him turn, arm going limp instantly. He was off Laufey in a second, rushing over, as Loki whimpered and tried to move away.

"It's alright," he said. "It's OK, it's me. It's OK."

He managed to pull Loki into an embrace, feeling him sob against his chest.

"I didn't sign it," he said. "I didn't sign."

Over Loki's head, he could see Sif, Balder and Byleister grappling with Helblindi. He seemed to realise what was happening pretty quickly and raised his hands in surrender.

Sif looked over at Thor, hair wild, a smudge of blood against her nose. Balder was panting, definitely worse off than her with a red mark on his face that promised to bruise later, but practically glowing with adrenaline.

Thor gingerly helped Loki to his feet, barely resisting the urge to pick him up and cradle him.

"We're leaving," he said simply. "And if you ever try to hurt us again, I _will_ kill you."

Laufey was trying to sit up, groaning around what were probably broken ribs.

"Don't think this is over," he strained. "You think you can cross me and get away with it? I'll have that lodge. You see if I don't."

"No, Dad," Byleister said. "No more."

Laufey stared at him through swollen eyes.

"I mean it," Byleister continued. "I'm sick of this... This fear that you use to control people. It just makes things worse."

"He's right," Helblindi wheezed. "We're not kids anymore. You can't just break our bones and expect us to still come crawling back. It was Lopt today, what to stop it being us tomorrow apart from us?"

"You dare talk to me like that? You wait till we get home..."

"No! We're not scared of you anymore. Don't you see? You made us how we are. You gave us teeth. And we can bite back."

Thor found himself almost shocked. He wondered how long that particular outburst had been brewing.

Laufey was spitting rage.

"You ungrateful bastards. I knew you were soft. Get out then, Lopt. Go home to your owner like a good dog. Let him cage you. Let him rip the wolf out of you and make you beg for scraps. If you're lucky, he might collar you. But I bet you'd enjoy that, you deviant little whore. You both would. Like brother, like sister."

Thor tried to tell himself that Laufey was just reaching for insults. 

He sat with Loki in the back seat, trying not to think about it as Sif drove them away.


	53. Chapter 53

Balder seemed to suddenly burst.

"I can't believe we did that," he said. "God, can you believe we did that?"

"Yes. I can," Thor said. His knuckles were starting to ache now.

"You were amazing. Like, boom! He didn't know what hit him. And Sif! Did you see? She kicked the bigger one in the head before he'd even stood up! I'm not sure who was more surprised, him or me. Wow, I'm... Wow."

"I think I was most surprised," Sif said. "It's amazing what the heat of the moment will do."

"Thank you for coming to get me," Loki said softly. 

"You knew I would," Thor said.

"Never doubted it for a second."

He tried to smile, hissing when the wound on his lip reopened.

Thor insisted on taking care of him as soon as they were home, letting Balder call their parents and fill them in on a rescue that seemed to be getting more dramatic by the moment.

He cleaned Loki's facial cuts and couldn't help but notice the way he winced every time he moved. A bath would take care of some of those aches, or at least would help a little. He even managed to dig out an ancient bottle of foam from the back of a cupboard which promised to aid relaxation.

Balder was getting his coat on as he left Loki undressing in the bathroom.

"Just...leaving you two in peace," he said. "Karnilla wants to hear all about it. And tell me off for being so reckless, I expect."

Thor patted him vaguely on the shoulder.

"Thank you," he said. "For helping me. Us."

"Well, it's pretty obvious you're crazy about each other. He looks at you like you're an angel. And besides, what are little brothers for, if not to help rescue significant others from coercive situations?"

Thor managed to force a smile as he let Balder out.

But his mind was in turmoil.

The little digs about Angela were starting to burrow into his mind.

What if Laufey had been there that night? What if he had...?

What if Laufey was his father?

He made some tea, carefully pushing the bathroom door open.

Loki looked as serene as someone with a beat-up face could, resting against the edge of the tub, kicking his feet just slightly.

He seemed to be in less pain as he managed to sit up and accept a mug.

"Feeling better?"

"Almost well enough for you to slip in and join me."

He looked vaguely surprised when Thor just stroked his hair and clumsily changed the subject.

"What was Laufey talking about when he said I would rip the wolf out of you?"

Loki shifted a little, water swirling around him.

"Oh, that... It's something he picked up from my grandfather. He is very fond of saying that we, as a family, are better and stronger than everyone else. That everyone else are just sheep for Jotunheim to devour. Family is everything to him, but he doesn't know what family is. He thinks he's the alpha. His word is law. And he used to say that if we...trusted other people, or let them into our lives, they'd make us their dogs. They'd tame us, subdue us, _neuter_ us. Yeah, well. I'd rather be your dog than his cub."

Thor's heart ached as he found his fluffiest towel and patted Loki dry with it, being extra careful with the deep bruises that patterned his skin and carefully avoided stimulating him.

He told himself it was to help him sleep.

Even when they were curled in bed together, he would allow only chaste kisses, lips closed and soft, not lingering.

If Loki noticed, he was too tired to complain.


	54. Chapter 54

He managed to feign sleep through Loki walking his fingers across his chest, nuzzling at his neck and kissing his forehead.

He couldn't feign sleep when he rolled on top though.

"Wait," he said.

Loki sighed. "I'm not that sore, I swear. I'll be OK. Especially if I'm on top. You won't hurt me."

"No, it's not that, it's..."

"What, Thor?"

He couldn't resist that worried voice and those eyes, looking out from under bruises.

"I just realised that... Laufey was probably there, when Angie...got taken to the lodge."

So euphemistic.

"Right. Well, yeah. Probably. You wishing you killed him when you had the chance?"

"No. A little. Not really. But if he was then he might have... And so he might be my father. My biological father. And that would make you and me brothers and..."

He had rather assumed that Loki might move away at that, but he remained where he was, looking down at Thor quizically.

"Does that idea bother you?"

Thor didn't say anything. Wasn't sure what to say.

Loki sighed. "Do you think you're likely to see me as your brother?"

A pause. "No. I think of you as my...Loki. I don't know."

"Listen to me. If you want, we can get tested and find out. But even if it's true, it won't make me want you any less. I won't want to stop. It wouldn't make a difference to me if we were. And it's not like we're at risk of having deformed children or anything."

Thor was still feeling uncertain.

"Look at it this way," Loki said, finally rolling off him but cuddling close. "Balder is your brother. Except he's not. He's your uncle. But do you think of him as your uncle?"

"No," Thor huffed, knowing he was about to be an unwilling participant in a logic game. "He's my brother. He always will be my brother. Knowing that... Knowing the truth doesn't alter that."

"Well, there we are. In the extremely unlikely event that we share up to four and a half pints of blood, I'm still your Loki. And it doesn't matter. I'll still want you, you'll still want me. So either you can worry about incest or you can let me reward you for being my hero yesterday."

Thor considered saying no, for about a millisecond. And then Loki brought a hand up to cup his face and softly, delicately, pulled him into the filthiest kiss he'd ever had.

It was hard to resist after that.

They took it slow, Loki on top. Thor was worried about how fragile he must be feeling. He took every gasp wrong, thinking them pained instead of pleasured, refusing to thrust too hard in case it hurt.

And in his exasperation, Loki decided to tease him.

"You know, it's one I haven't heard before," he said between sighs.

"What?"

Loki's eyes gleamed wickedly.

"Brother kink," he whispered.

"No. Loki, no..."

"I bet I can train you to like it, brother..."

And Thor groaned because that was so close to his Daddy voice, but somehow...more assured. More certain. More in control.

"I don't want to like it."

"Sorry. I just don't believe that."

He leant forward, brushing their noses together, hands gripping Thor's shoulders and allowing for greater movement. Thor jerked helplessly, his body responding eagerly.

"Maybe if you try a little harder and trust me to know my limits, I will believe it."

Thor relented, gripping Loki's hips and slamming him down onto his cock.

"Ah! Oh, there you go, just like that."

It was easier if he sat up, letting Loki loop his arms around his neck and pant against his ear.

"Come on, brother," he was saying, voice jolting. "Give it to me like you mean it."

"Stop it..."

Loki laughed, managing to brace himself and rock counterpoint to Thor's motions, definitely clenching deliberately.

"No," he said. "Shan't. You'll have to do more to shut me up, br- Oh..."

A hand on his cock had the power to take his words. But only momentarily. He was soon bucking forward into Thor's fist as well as back onto his cock, muscles spasming.

"Shit, Thor. I'm going to come. I want you to come with me. You close? Brother, are you close?"

He was. He was fit to burst. And Loki knew that, evidently, throwing his head back at the very second Thor felt himself coming.

"Yeah. Oh, _big brother_ , yes..."

And if Thor kept stroking a few times after Loki was making pained hissing noises of oversensitivity, well, he deserved it.

"You're a little shit sometimes," he said as Loki settled back against his chest.

Big faux-innocent eyes looked up at him.

"But I'm your little shit."

Well, there was that. 

Could have worded it better though.


	55. Chapter 55

There was someone at the door. Thor crept towards it, afraid of who might be there.

He was a little taken aback when Frigga swept into his home.

"Thor, darling," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Are you alright? Balder told me all about it."

"Did he? Good."

"So where is he?"

"Balder?"

She flapped at his chest. "Loki. I want to meet him."

Well, Mom, he's in my bed with my come leaking out of him.

"He's... He's still asleep, I thought it best to..."

"Thor?"

And thank heavens, Loki had slipped on Thor's dressing gown before emerging from the bedroom.

Frigga still gasped at the sight of his abused face, moving as though to embrace him too but stopping at the last minute until he opened his arms to let her in.

Thor recognised that hug. He'd received it many times as a child when he'd fallen off his bike or tripped or stubbed his toe. A gentle but firm enveloping, built to make the troubles of the world melt away.

Loki seemed rather nonplussed by it.

"Are you alright?" she was saying. "Taking it easy? Not straining yourself?"

"Thor has been very careful not to let me exert myself too much," Loki said, smirking over her shoulder.

Eventually, Frigga released him, making her way to the couch.

"Would you like...tea? Coffee?" Thor asked.

"I'll have whatever you're having."

Coffee it was. He came back with a tray and a little jug of milk, just the way he'd been taught to do when he had guests, finding Frigga quizzing Loki on his well-being and asking why he hadn't been to the hospital and Loki carefully assuading her concerns, insisting there was nothing worth worrying over, nothing a little rest wouldn't solve.

"Of course, your father is hopping mad," she said once Thor had sat down.

"About...us?"

"Oh, goodness, no. I don't think that will bother him, even when he does manage to process it. No, he's furious that you managed to execute your own plan under his nose and didn't tell him."

"Well, I..." Thor started. "I didn't want to worry him with it all and what might happen and..."

"I understand. That's why I'm here for you to tell me all about it and then I'll handle him and you two can focus on recovering. Take a few days off. Relax a little."

"Well, where do you want me to start?"

"Maybe how you two met?"

Thor hesitated, looking to Loki for help. He didn't exactly want to tell his mother than he'd been looking for...paid companionship.

"Online dating," Loki said, coming to his rescue. "It was funny. I was working at Asgard and I show up for a date and there's my boss. And he didn't recognise me."

"Thor, that is shocking!"

"And, well... One thing led to another and he let slip about trying to avoid selling the lodge to Jotunheim and... We came up with the plan together."

Between the two of them, it all came out. Seeking advice from Hela, staging the auction, moving in together, Laufey's rage.

Almost all of it... By unspoken agreement they didn't mention any illegal activity on their part. Surtur stayed entirely unmentioned.

And by the time Frigga was bustling out again to relay the story to Odin - probably even further condensed - Thor was even starting to feel like it was over. Like they could leave it behind.

"Sorry about that," he said once the door was closed. "She gets a little...intense sometimes. I think it's because she works away. It's like she condenses herself..."

"It's fine," Loki said, lounging on the couch. "Well... Yeah. It's fine."

That was suspicious.

"What?"

"It's just we should get our story straight if we're going to say we met through one of those dating sites. I know it is technically true, but... You wouldn't want the truth coming out accidentally, would you?"

Thor lifted his feet, resettling them on his lap when he'd sat down.

"Does it upset you that I wasn't honest?" he asked.

Loki huffed. "I don't think I'd really have a leg to stand on where honesty is concerned. A lot of people know what I did and may suspect you were a client, so if you want to deny that, we need a solid story. I'm not ashamed of my past but... But I get it. Don't worry about it. I'll get used to it."

Thor spent the rest of the day fulfilling his whims, fetching food and drink, raiding the newly enlarged DVD shelf and ignoring complaints of ticklish feet so he could massage them.

A few days would do them a world of good.


	56. Chapter 56

Loki refused to leave the house until his face was healed enough that he could cover the fading bruises in foundation.

They took a trip to his old place, finding the lock forced and most of the furniture destroyed.

"Break in?" Thor tried.

Loki shook his head. "Family. They thought I had the deed. Thought they could destroy it. Like I didn't have copies."

"Where is it?"

"Hela has the original. And strict instructions to produce it, should anything happen to me. And I gave one to Lorelei when we signed off on the lodge, just in case."

He was kicking dejectedly through the scattered stuffing of what was once his couch.

"Of course, they then figured that if I signed a new document, then it would overrule. So... Yeah."

They'd even smashed his plates and glasses, wires torn from his electrical goods, curtains ripped at the seams. Nothing was left untouched.It was clearly meant to be a punishment.

It took then most of the afternoon to clean up, bag after bag of splintered wood and torn furnishings carried down to the street outside.

Helblindi was nothing if not thorough, it seemed. A few days after the warehouse incident, they heard that Laufey had been arrested, accused of assault by his two younger sons. And suddenly witnesses were coming out of the woodwork, speaking of bribery and corruption. Everyone who'd been under Laufey's thumb found themselves free and out for revenge. Anonymous tips had his accounts frozen pending investigation. It all happened so fast that Thor had trouble believing it.

Jotunheim still ticked by it seemed, under Angrboda's rule, but after the scandal it looked as though they'd go under soon.

"Do you think we really ought to burn the lodge?" Thor asked that night, once he'd taken Loki home and fussed over him until he didn't feel quite so bad.

"Why wouldn't we? It was your idea."

"Well, isn't it...evidence?"

"I suppose, but... Look, too many powerful people have an interest in keeping that particular story covered up. I think getting rid of it is a pretty good compromise. Call your sister. Ask when she's free."

Thor was loathe to leave the couch, but he'd been itching to call Angela for a few days.

Gary answered it, polite as always. Thor had no issue with him as a person, but he didn't know the truth about Thor's parentage. As such, he always found talking to him mildly awkward.

He asked for Angie as soon as was socially acceptable.

"I'm planning a bonfire," Thor said. "I was wondering when you were free."

She was silent for a moment before laughing. He could hear the tail-end of a sob attached to it.

"You did it," she said, sounding like she couldn't believe it. "You actually did it."

She chose a date at the end of the month. A Saturday. And said that she'd say she was coming to be named as an executor on Thor's will.

That was a good excuse for why she wanted to come alone. And gave Thor something else to think about.


	57. Chapter 57

Lorelei hung up on him twice before he managed to convey that the lodge was going to burn and she should come.

She didn't confirm if she would or not.

Thor had gone back to work. It seemed the right thing to do. His father still seemed a little upset with him, though a new file arrived on his desk the second week he was back. A large house sale. Very high-profile.

He accepted that as forgiveness.

Loki declined the offer of having his old job back. Thor was concerned that he would get bored and encouraged him to look elsewhere. He didn't like the idea of him hanging around at home by himself with nothing to do. 

Even if sometimes he did come home to a vision in lace and silk moaning and begging for him.

Still, it worried him that Loki would get sick of being cooped up and long for freedom and resent him for it.

But he didn't know how to bring it up. He didn't know how to ask if he'd thought about getting a job without it sounding like he was scolding him for not earning his keep in some way. And when he asked if Loki was happy, all he got was assurances that he was, followed by kisses that all too soon distracted him from his goal.

Time ticked on. The chosen Saturday arrived.

They drove north in silence. Thor had had trouble deciding how to do it. Pouring petrol anywhere near the marsh seemed unsafe. He was feeling bad enough about the environmental impact of a fire. At least the marsh meant it shouldn't spread.

"I've got something to tell you," Loki said suddenly. "And I'm scared you won't like it."

Thor glanced at him nervously. "What?"

"I'm going to go and work for Hela."

OK, great. Why was that a scary thing for him to say?

"I'm sorry," Loki continued when he didn't say anything, waiting for elaboration. "I know you wanted me back at Asgard, but there would be too many awkward questions..."

"No," Thor said. "No, it's... I'm glad. I was scared that you were going to get bored, stuck in the house all day."

"So you're not going to miss me being home waiting for you?"

Well, he was. Of course. But this was better.

"Just means I'll have to wait for you sometimes. I still haven't found an occasion to pay my forfeit..."

He saw Loki grin out of the corner of his eye. Maybe they would be alright. Maybe one day this whole thing would be dulled by the passage of time and be replaced with happier memories. Better times.

"I'm going to put you in my will," Thor said. It seemed the right time to bring it up.

Loki spluttered. "Why? Are you ill?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. It's just... I want to. I want to know that if something happened to me, you'd get some of my stuff. It's just for my peace of mind."

"Thor, it hasn't been a year..."

"I know. But I want to. I know it sounds crazy serious but... I'm just letting you know. One less thing to worry about."

He was turning into the track that led to the lodge now, seeing two vehicles already there. He recognised one as Angela's car. There were a number of people who might own the other.

"Less talk of death," Loki said. "More talk of fire."

It was a mild afternoon as they stepped out. Thor found himself strangely shy introducing Loki to Angela. She looked between the two of them, nodding gently.

Lorelei's sister had driven her down, for reasons that became obvious as she threw her arms around his neck, mumbling drunkenly about celebrating. The sister, Amora, was tall and faintly intimidating. She had a calculating air about her, looking him over like she didn't fully trust him.

"Are we doing this, then?" she asked. "Only I have to get back home by tomorrow."

They walked to the cabin almost reverently, as though performing an ancient ritual. Loki produced the key from his pocket like a relic.

Thor practically trembled as he stepped inside. He was conceived here. Just one more act in a place of pain and suffering. Angela refused to cross the threshold.

Amora was making use of the bar, taking a few bottles for personal use and smashing the rest, spirits mostly, the splashes staining the furnishings. She was methodical, sparing no corner. It would burn easily.

After one last look, Thor ushered everyone out. He stood in the doorway, box of matches in hand.

His fingers shook, the scent of brandy filling his nostrils. He broke the first three matches, pressing too hard.

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, a nose nuzzling his ear. Loki. 

A deep breath, and the fourth match flared.

He tossed it forwards, watching only long enough to see the flame catch, and retreated.


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little warning here for discussions related to abortion and miscarriage. Nothing graphic or anything, but sensitive issues nonetheless.

The lodge burned for hours. 

Amora pushed Lorelei into the back seat of her car, telling her to sleep. 

Thor sat on the bonnet of his, Loki sitting next to him, an arm firmly, reassuringly around his waist.

By the time it was reduced almost completely to embers and ash, the chill of the evening air was beginning to make itself known.

Amora decided to leave. Thor perfunctorily shook her hand. She hadn't shed a single tear. He felt practically dehydrated. 

He and Angela must have sat and watched the faint glow of the wood long afterwards. Loki had nodded off against Thor's shoulder.

The building's importance in his life had become apparent so recently. Angela had been dealing with it for her entire adult life and beyond.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, aware of how inadequate a question it was.

She sniffed, wiping her eyes and forcing a smile.

"Yeah. It's just... It's been a steady nightmare setting for me for so many years and to see it burned... It helps a little. I know I said I don't remember, and I don't, but... What does stick in my mind has haunted me. I feel like I'm exorcising some ghosts."

Loki snuffled slightly and Thor half-carried him round to sit in the passenger seat and be more comfortable, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before closing the door.

"He's Laufey's kid, huh?" Angela said as he returned to the bonnet. "He looks like his wife."

Thor nodded. "We're... I..."

She sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "You're happy. That's what matters. And he seems nice. Sweet."

"Yeah, he... He's pretty special."

They sat in silence a little longer, almost in the dark now.

"Can I ask you something awful?" Thor asked.

He felt Angela tense and half-pull away.

"If you do, I may not answer. But, sure. Go ahead, if you have to."

He took a deep breath.

"Why didn't you abort me? You could have done. Sometimes I... I wonder why you didn't, when I'm the product of such an awful thing."

Angela slumped a little.

"Because I was ashamed," she said. "I didn't tell Mom and Dad until it was too late for that. I wore big sweaters, bulky clothes to hide the swelling. I... I don't know what I thought would happen. I felt that I had to have you. That what happened was my fault for not being careful and you were my punishment. But you have to see, Thor. That wasn't a judgement on you. You came out great."

"Yes, but... But it was _rape_."

"And that's not your fault. Not my fault. And we're rich, Thor. We can afford children. I was in a position where I could have my child without the stigma of being an underage mother, with a lot of support, knowing that my child would be raised well. It was my personal situation. You mustn't let it eat you."

"It's hard not to. Sorry."

Her arm refound its way around his shoulders.

"Did you know that Mom had a miscarriage before me?" she asked.

Thor jerked back. "No. No, I didn't. You mean we almost... There was another kid?"

Angela pulled him back in. "She never talks about it. Dad told me one night, after one too many beers. And I... Sometimes I still think about that person. How old they'd be now. And when I messed up, I used to think about how much better their lives would be, everyone's lives would be, if that child had been born instead of me."

"Angie..."

"I know. It's ridiculous. Because we live in the universe where I was born. And that's how you've got to look at it. In another universe, I was never raped. In another, I had an abortion. In so many others, you messed up in a million different ways. But in this one... You grew up fine. You made it. You have a family who love you, a partner you love. And you have to be thankful for that."

Thor leant fully into her embrace, letting a fresh flow of tears that he didn't know he had in him slide down his face.

"Thanks," he said, unable to think of much else to say.

They held each other until they were ready to let go.


	59. Chapter 59

Loki woke up as Thor tried to put his seatbelt on for him.

"So..." he mumbled. "Home?"

Thor reached across to tuck a stray hair back behind his ear, gratified when Loki leaned into the touch.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Not really."

"No, me neither. I'm... I don't feel much like eating."

Thor waved to Angela as her car trundled out, even though she probably couldn't see him. He'd see her to amend his will soon enough.

"If you don't want food," Loki said as they set off home. "Maybe I can tempt you with something else."

"Maybe. It depends what you have in mind."

He could play this game too. Make Loki explain in the most graphic way he could. Get all worked up before they got home. He could... He could handle it. Take his mind off things.

"I'm sure you can imagine."

"Try me."

Loki chuckled. "No, no. You have to guess. You never know. You might be right."

Thor considered. So Loki wanted him to say what he wanted. Alright.

"I think that we're going to go home and make love."

He didn't expect the laughter.

"I hate that phrase," Loki said. "Seriously, it's so gross. Just call it sex. But that's not nearly detailed enough. You can do better. Guess again."

"No," said Thor, changing gear. "No, it's true. I'm going to take you home and love you. And you're going to like it. I'm going to run a bath and we're going to share it and then I'm going to carry you to the bed and make incredible passionate love to you."

"No. We're going to fuck in the bath and then go to bed for round two."

Thor smiled serenely. This was good. A little playful argument was perfect to keep his mind away from...

No, he wasn't thinking about it. It was over, it was finished, he didn't have to...

"Thor, stop thinking. I see you doing it. Let go for a while. Just for tonight. We can worry again tomorrow, but for now don't think about it."

He took a shuddering breath. It was hard. As soon as he tried not to think about it, his mind snapped right back.

"Talk to me," he said. "Please, keep talking to me. Tell me how you want tonight."

Loki had been staring at him in concern, a worried face in his peripheral vision. But he turned to look outside again before speaking.

"If it's up to me, we won't get to the bath. If it's up to me, you'll put me on the kitchen counter to start with. Let me have my way with that hot mouth of yours. Let me find out how gross I taste when you kiss me afterwards. _Then_ you can carry me to bed and open me up. I want you on top, bracketing me in and kissing me long and slow. And then I want you to fuck me."

Yes, this was working. This was keeping him distracted.

"That's not very precise," he said. "How will I know if I'm doing it right?"

"Oh, I think I'll give you a few hints. I think it will go a little like... 'Ooh, Thor... Oh, Thor, yes... Yes, yes, keep going, keep going, fuck!'"

Thor's palms were sweaty against the steering wheel.

"Baby, you can't do this to me. Not when we're so far from home. And when I've got no lube in the car."

"Oh, shame," Loki said. "I could save some time if I started prep now."

Thor just shook his head. Loki's voice was echoing in his head even as he sat drumming his fingers waiting for the first traffic lights of the city to change in their favour.

He lifted Loki onto the kitchen counter as soon as the door was closed, letting the day's stresses disappear in the taste of him and the tug of fingers in his hair and the gasps of pleasure floating round his head.


	60. Chapter 60

"Ah... Ah, Thor..."

Nothing could distract him right now. His throat was starting to ache, but he could tell he was nearly finished and nothing else mattered.

When Loki arched up, almost bucking off the counter, it was all Thor could do to keep him in place while he swallowed around him, keeping just a little spend on his tongue to feed back to him.

He grinned at the vague noise of disgust Loki made into their kiss. 

"Bath or bed?"

"Oh, bed I should think. Somebody said something about making passionate love to me."

"Well, someone else said something about fucking."

"They did, didn't they? Whatever will we do about that?"

Thor thought for just a second before picking him up, bridal style, and carrying him through to lay him carefully on the bed.

"Close your eyes," he said. "And don't you dare peek."

He waited until Loki had obediently covered his face before yanking his clothes off. He walked away backwards, making sure there was no cheating.

The new wardrobe was helpfully silent when he eased the door open and pulled out the lace camisole, the one bought for him.

He crept back to the bed, tugging it on.

"Eyes shut, remember," he said, taking one of Loki's hands. "But you can touch."

He placed the hand on his chest, watching as Loki's lips parted in a gasp. His fingers ran along the edge and slid down to trace the outside of Thor's pectorals, the light touch almost tickling.

"Can I look?" he asked immediately.

"No. You're wearing too many clothes still. Let me change that first."

He thrilled slightly at how trusting Loki was. He let himself be manhandled and undressed, his eyes still closed. He didn't even open them when Thor spread his legs apart, though he shivered a little with excitement. 

"Just a little longer," Thor said. "Just let me prepare you and then you can look."

Loki nodded desperately, squirming. Thor resolved to tease him just a little, watching as he began to recover from their earlier play, his cock twitching eagerly. He moaned as Thor skimmed over his entrance, not slipping in.

"Thor..." he whined eventually. "Do it. I want to see you, please..."

He accepted one finger easily, the second soon following. Thor wondered how long he could keep Loki like this, though he'd probably die of frustration before finding out.

"Do it. I'm ready, fuck me. Please, please."

"You want it?"

" _Need_ it."

Well, he couldn't argue with that.

"Look at me."

Loki's eyes flashed open, raking over Thor's body. The camisole clung to him, revealing everything. Loki lunged at him, dragging him down, nails scraping the lace on his back.

Thor had never been kissed like this. It was difficult to breathe. It was difficult to _think_. He could feel Loki's cock, hard again now, trapped between them, and the strength of Loki's legs wrapped around him, trying to pull him closer.

He forcibly pulled away to reach between them, lining himself up and pushing in. Now, what was it he'd said? Bracketing.

Thor held himself up on his forearms, his hands level with Loki's face, able to swipe a thumb across the flush blooming on his cheeks.

He would never get used to this. He would never get used to knowing that this definitely wasn't a performance. This was just for him, something between them alone, exclusively theirs.

Loki's lips were desperate, latching onto his as though they were the source of life itself. Thor increased his force steadily, hearing Loki's moans grow louder and higher.

"Talk to me," he demanded.

"Please," Loki managed. "Please, more..."

"More?"

"Please."

He switched back to incoherent cries as Thor sped up, trying to angle himself right, if he could just...

"Fuck... Fuck, Thor... I-I'm..."

Thor kept going, not missing a beat, body beginning to complain a little but overruled by his knowledge of what would happen if he could just manage a little more...

"Right there... There... Yes."

"Come on, Loki. Come on, you can do it."

He felt it start, Loki's body jerking and twitching, inner muscles clamping down as he spilled over his stomach. It was irresistible. Thor moaned long and low, following Loki over the edge almost immediately.

Loki's body was like a vice, gripping him with arms and legs, unwilling to let him move away and holding him tight to where his come still lingered.

Let him. Thor was in no rush. They could sleep sticky. He lay still until Loki loosened his grip and began caressing him instead, running fingers through his hair.

"Do you think we'll be OK?" Thor asked. "Do you think we'll make it?"

Loki softly kissed the top of his head. "Yes, I do. I think we're going to be fine."

"I'm glad we're... That we found each other. I love you, I think."

Loki didn't respond to that. His hand found Thor's and linked with it though. Which was all the reply necessary really.

Thor nuzzled his chest a little, inhaling the warm scent of belonging and home. 

No, not warm. That wasn't quite the right word somehow. In fact, the more of Loki he breathed in, the more only one word filled Thor's mind to describe it.

Sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!
> 
> When I started work on this fic (all the way back in November) I never expected it to get anything like the response it has.
> 
> I would like to thank each and every one of you who took the time to read it and to hit the kudos button or write me a few lines about it. It really does make writing worth it to see that it makes people happy and I intend to keep writing about these two for as long as I have ideas for them, whether canon or AU stuff.
> 
> Next on the horizon, the second chapter of 'Where The Winner Never Wins' which I'm currently writing. I'm also working on a new longer fic set in the same world as my rich kids from my 30 Challenge fills, which is in a similar but different vein to this. I like aspects of it, but it needs more revision. It will probably be called 'Linger On' if it ever sees the light of day. And there's a new 'Thor in Glasses' story just nudging at the edges of my brain.
> 
> Thank you so much once again. I love you all.


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